National Youth Service (NYS) training programme could be compulsory to form four graduates before joining institutions of higher learning.This is according to the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report which has recommended that all Kenyans aged from 18 to 26 years should dedicate a half year of their lives to national service.
“All Kenyans should give six months of their lives to national service between the ages of 18 and 26,” reads the report.
The move is aimed at raising responsible citizens capable of getting “tasks done.”
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According to the report, plans will be made to involve those who are not in school.
In order to achieve the said proposal, schools are expected to introduce Volunteer Clubs to prepare the students for the task ahead.
“Kenyan schools should draw all students into chores and responsibilities that uplift and provide for the school and the broader community,” the report read.
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On its part, the government will come up with social responsibility initiatives that will be the basis of the national service.
“Government departments should draw up Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives linked to this,” the report outlined.
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Apart from the compulsory national service enrollment, the government will also set aside a network for those who want to serve voluntarily.
“There should be a national volunteer network that allows efforts that need volunteers to sign on and be connected to those who want to serve,” read the report.
Participants will be awarded certificates that will outline the volunteering period and the person’s incentives.
The certificate will be made a requirement of applying for Public Service jobs as stipulated by the BBI report.
Pre-university students were previously subjected to an extensive non-combat paramilitary training programme for six months after the National Youth Service (NYS) was established in 1964.
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However, in the late 1980s, the recruitment of pre-university students came to a halt after riots at the Gilgil facility and subsequent ones at the universities that brought, into sharp focus, the efficacy of the program.
The shortlisted also go through National building programmes and technical and vocational training in various skills and trades.
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