EXPLAINER: How Kenya Plans For Mandatory NYS Training for ALL High School Graduates
All form four leavers could soon face mandatory National Youth Service (NYS) training after schools under a new bill proposed by Lang’ata MP Phelix Odiwuor Jalang’o.
Speaking in an interview on AM TV on Tuesday, July 28, Jalang’o said the proposed legislation seeks to introduce a system where Kenyans join NYS after completing secondary school.
According to the MP, the students will undergo specific training, including paramilitary training, and acquire discipline and skills that can help them transition to adulthood and employment.
“I have a Bill coming up that seeks to make NYS training mandatory after Form Four,” Jalang’o stated.
According to the MP, the mandatory training is currently being held in many countries, including Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates, noting that there was a requirement in Kenya previously, but it was abandoned.
“Several countries, including Saudi Arabia and Nigeria, have mandatory NYS training,” he added.
“Kenya also had a similar system in the past, where after Form Four, one would go to NYS and undergo paramilitary training and learn discipline.”
The programme, he said, would expose young people to training beyond the traditional academic system, including vocational skills, leadership, patriotism, and national service.
He argued that mandatory NYS training would provide Form Four leavers with an opportunity to develop practical skills while instilling discipline and a sense of responsibility.
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The proposed legislation would effectively make NYS training a compulsory stage for young people after secondary school, subject to the provisions that Parliament would eventually approve.
Currently, there is no mandatory training for NYS; however, to be eligible, one must be a Kenyan citizen aged between 18 and 24 years, possess a valid national ID, and hold a minimum grade of D (plain) or above in the KCSE.
Applicants must also pass a rigorous physical and medical assessment, produce a valid Certificate of Good Conduct, and be ready to undergo intensive paramilitary training.
All NYS recruits must undergo a mandatory six-month physical and mental conditioning program, including paramilitary tactics and physical fitness.
They will then graduate and begin phase two training, which includes nation-building. Here, they are deployed to national development projects across Kenya to practice service and civic duty.
The third phase includes the technical and vocational training, where trainees enrol in accredited nys technical training institutes to earn certificates and diplomas.
EXPLAINER: How Kenya Plans For Mandatory NYS Training for ALL High School Graduates
