The Nigerian Defense Academy Short Service is not like the other NDA courses. This one only lasts for 9 months. It involves intensive military training and it is targeted at improving on requirements for officers of the Nigerian army.
The courses do take place once in a while and individuals are encouraged to register. Anyone graduating from the course is a Second Lieutenant and he/she can be deployed to war front immediately after graduation.
Aside combatant military men, non-combatant military men are equally trained for the Nigerian Defense Academy Short Service.
A number of other African countries are also involved in this program. They use the opportunity to fill up spaces for military officers in case such spaces need to be filled due to urgent needs.
What are the requirements for registering for Nigerian Defense Academy Short Service? They are discussed below
Requirements
The individual registering for the Nigerian Defense Academy Short Service must meet the requirements below:
- He must be a Nigerian in line with what obtains in the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s Constitution
- The applicant is required to be a male or female and he/she must be between the ages of 22 and 35 years.
- He must have minimum of first degree and he must not have less than Second Class Lower. HND graduates are also given equal opportunity; the HND graduate must not have less than Lower Credit. The degrees can be in various areas of human endeavour, like humanities, sciences and arts. Such degrees must have been obtained from recognized Nigerian polytechnic or university.
- The individual must be minimum of 1.68m in height
- He must also be fit, both physically and medically.
- The individual must be in possession of NYSC Discharge Letter or the NYSC Exemption letter
- The individual must present valid birth certificate and it must be endorsed by National Population Commission, local government or recognized hospital. He/she can also present valid age declaration from court.
- Additionally, the applicant must be in possession of valid certificate of state of origin.
- As at the time of registering for the course, the individual must never have had record of conviction by a competent court of law.
- Minimum of 2 recognized referees must provide recommendation for the applicant. These individuals need to attest to the person’s integrity and character. If the person registering for the Nigerian Defense Academy Short Service is a serving military personnel, he/she needs to be recommended by his/her commanding officer
Number of intakes
Each year, only 100 cadets are admitted to register for the Nigerian Defense Academy Short Service. This means only 300 are admitted for the course. This number may be reviewed periodically by the Army Headquarters.
Cadets from other African countries, like Ghana are also given admission into the Nigerian Defense Academy Short Service course. The course usually starts between July and august of each year.
After the examination, the school authority releases the results without delay. In most instances, the examinations are written around February of every year. The results on the other hand are released around April of every year.
The results determine those that will be shortlisted by the school authority. After the short listing, those successful are given date for further interview. They equally go through various screening processes.
After this, they are taken through clearance. This is when issues, like nationality, medical records, weight and height will be assessed. During this stage also, authenticity of certificates and possible criminal records will be assessed.
Over the years, up to 65% of those who apply for the Nigerian Defense Academy Short Service Courses are dropped during the various processed outlined above. Those who successfully go through these various stages without fail will then be admitted for the NDA program.
The elimination process does not actually end here; it continues even after the individual has been admitted as a bona fide student for the Nigerian Defense Academy Short Service Course.
Anyone can still be eliminated at any stage for that matter. The student is not sure of graduating until his/her very last day in school. This is because his/her position will be continuously threatened by expulsion and elimination.
Aside the threat of elimination and expulsion, the admitted individual will also have to bear the brunt of very hard training. The trainings given during these nine months would not just be academic trainings, but also physical trainings. Some do see it as punishment, but it is ordinary training as far the school authority is concerned.
At the point of graduation, the graduates become 2nd lieutenant in the Nigerian Army. The weight of individuals worthy of qualification for the Nigerian Defense Academy Short Service Course is around 70 to 75 kg.
If you aspire to get admitted, then it is better you started losing some weight in case you are beyond this scale. Those below too may do themselves a world of good to start gaining some weight so as to fit in properly during the screening exercise.
You need to understand that 1.68m, translates to about 5 feet and 6 inches. Anyone who has less height than this will not be given admission at all.
The examination is not so difficult anyway. The questions are very simple and anyone can handle them. It is the screening exercise that gets many people sent back home. You also need to know that admission into the Nigerian Defense Academy Short Service Course is spread among the states in Nigeria.
Application form can be purchased easily online. You are only required to buy PIN or Access codes and use that to access the application form. After filling the forms, you should provide all required documents and then submit the completed form online.
The process is relatively easy. You can visit NDA Official Website to assess the form. Bank charges may however apply while paying for the application form.
After you have completed the form, you are required to also download Acknowledgment Form and keep it pending the day of examination and screening. All the information you need will be provided on NDA official website, which is at www.nda.edu.ng.