Congratulations!!! You are finally here, you are finally towards the end of your 11 months of obeying the clarion call. You are almost done with NYSC, almost done with Allowee… Almost done with your Kakhi and your face cap…. And your POP is right in the corner.
Since the establishment of NYSC, it’s a normal custom for Corps Members to be worried about the Passing out day.
So many questions and worries, someone might even be asking: what is POP? What are the requirements? Where will it take place? What are the things I should carry along? And many more similar questions
Just keep reading, because at the end of this article, you will have nothing to worry about.
How should i appear for it? Or How Should I dress?
It’s passing out parade, so you MUST be on your 7 Over 7 full kit. For the benefit of you guys who have no idea what 7 over 7 means… let’s do a break down below
1.   Crested Vest
2.   Jungle Boot
3.   Face Cap
4.   Belt
5.   Kakhi Trouser
6.   Kakhi Shirt
7.   Green White Green Socks
So on you POP day, you need not to be worried about your Crested Vest getting dirty…. You won’t be needing it anymore.
Who are the people to expect?
The POP day is usually on a Thursday. Though it do fall on a CDS day, no CDS meeting will ever hold on the day. You are not going to see the state government if there will not be any parade in the case of your own state.
But all out-going corp member of a particular zone will all meet at their respective zonal headquarters for the ceremony. At the headquarter, the Nysc officials will be there waiting to give out the certificates. (The main koko why you came for service in the first place).
What will i be needing?
For you to collect your certificate, you will have to provide the following;
•   Your Nysc I.D card: This is very important. This I.D card will determine if you are going to collect your certificate on that day or not. If you have misplaced yours, you should better get it before the passing out day. Or better still, you can go and collect an affidavit from the nearest customary court before that day to address that kind of case.
•   Final clearance; You will also need the final clearance letter issued to you in your Place of Primary Assignment (PPA). Mind you, it’s the original copy that will be requested. If you don’t have the original copy, they won’t issue your certificate to you. They will want to see the original stamp ink on the clearance to confirm its authentic and original.
•   The attestation clearance given to you in your Nysc local government secretariat before that day will also be requested.
How will everything go?
After having addressed you, advise and congratulate you, the officials will be calling the corp members one after the other in each local government. Don’t forget you will be having more than one local government converging to receive their own certificates.
When it’s your turn at the table, you will be asked to submit all those requirements as stated above and ask you to sign against your name. then, your certificate will be given to you.
That is all.
You are just being dismissed and relieved from serving your father’s land and it’s time to travel back to your home, that’s if you don’t already have an establishment or job that could make you stay behind.
I have once highlighted some of the things you could do to establish yourself while you serve on earlier posts on this blog. check them here.
“No one can tell, a new partner may also make you stay behind sha…..* winks*”
Things you must do before you leave the officials’ table
1.   Your certificate: It may sound funny. But I must never forget to tell you, in case you are the over-anxious type. You must remember to collect your certificate after having signed against your name. Because after signing, it shows that you have collected your certificate. If you come back later asking for it, no one will respond to you.
2.   Check the name on the Certificate: You must ensure you check the names written on the certificate issued to you. If it’s not your name, you should quickly call their attention to it so they could change it to yours.
3.   sometimes, for one reason or the other, some names on the Certificate may be misspelled. In that case when you notice one error or the other on your certificate, quickly and politely let them know about it so they could correct it. Do not say it doesn’t matter. Am telling you, it does matter. It is better you correct it there when you can still do rather than wait for later times.
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