The National Youth Service Corps on Wednesday restated that it would not bow to pressure to compromise its mobilisation process.
The organisation said anyone caught with fake certificates during registration would be prosecuted as enshrined in the NYSC Act.
The Director-General of NYSC, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim, according to a statement by its Director (Press and Public Relations), Adenike Adeyemi, issued the threat when he hosted the Registrar/CEO of Health Records Officials Registration Board of Nigeria, Alhaji Babagana Mustapha who paid a courtesy visit to him in his office in Abuja.
Ibrahim said, “The NYSC would not relent to do the needful in line with the NYSC Act. We will continue to persecute fake graduates. Anyone caught with fake certificates during registration would be prosecuted as enshrined in the NYSC Act. I want to assure you that we will move our collaboration to the next level and will continue to post graduates of Health Information Management to medical facilities.”
Speaking earlier, Mustapha who described the NYSC as one of the critical stakeholders of the Board expressed gratitude to Ibrahim for his support to the Board since assuming duty as the NYSC helmsman.
He commended the DG for preventing unqualified persons from being mobilised by the scheme for service. .
He also expressed gratitude to the NYSC in respect of having graduates of Health Information Management licensed before mobilisation for service in order to forestall quackery and posting of unqualified persons to health institutions.
“Considering the fact that Health Records Professionals are critical to any effort at healthcare delivery, therefore, if left in the hands of quacks, it will jeopardize the confidentiality of patients’ data and management of patients’ care in general.
I am here to inform you sir, that since approval, our graduates are now gladly and wholeheartedly posted to hospitals and health centres which has helped in no small measure in combating quackery and exposing our graduates to the practical aspects of all they learnt while in school”, he added.
The Registrar hinted that one major challenge facing the board is the presentation of licence by its graduates at Orientation Camps.
“We had stated categorically in our Memorandum of Understanding that only Higher National Diploma certified licences are to be presented at camps for acceptance/clearance from camp officials, not National Diploma licences as presented by some of the graduates. We entreat you to kindly give consideration and action in this regard at future camps which we are confident you will oblige”, he stated.
-Punch
