ABUJA – Alhaji Kashim Ali, President, Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), has appealed that engineering graduates should be posted to engineering establishments for their primary assignments as corps members.Ali made the appeal on Monday when he visited the National Youth Service Corps Director-General, Brig.-Gen. Johnson Olawumi, in Abuja.He said that posting engineering graduates to such establishments would give them the practical experience required for their future contribution to the growth of the nation.“It is a fact that over 80 per cent of government spending is on engineering infrastructure.“ It therefore follows that engineering personnel, public or private sectors, will always be involved in the execution of projects,’’ he said.He noted that a graduate engineer without practical experience was at best a “half-baked engineer.’’“In an effort to enhance the quality of engineering education and practise in Nigeria, taking a cue from global trends, the council designed a two-year internship programme called Students Industrial Training Scheme in Engineering (SITSIE).“Like the internship programmes in Medicine, Pharmacy and Law, graduates of Engineering are expected to undergo industry-based structured training, where they will be exposed to practical training,” he said.Ali said the SITSIE programme was designed in such a way that the NYSC service year would be the first year of the two- year programme.“The objective is unfortunately not being met because of the absence of a definite NYSC policy on the deployment of engineer corps members to engineering organisations,’’ he said.Responding, Olawumi said that although he was an engineer, his deployment did not allow him to fully practise engineering.He said the NYSC was bound to post corps members to four key areas which are Health, Infrastructure, Agriculture and Education.“All the four areas have something to do with engineering,’’ he said.In another development, the Post-Master General, Malam Ibrahim Mori while visiting NYSC DG, said that the cooperation between NYSC and the postal service could be strengthened.He said that the development of Information Technology had reduced the relevance of the service.According to him, the service has introduced a new programme ‘Post Cash’ which is a way to transfer money to the rural areas where there are no banking services.He called for the establishment of a Postal Regulatory Agency which would regulate the activities of courier companies to reduce sharp practices.Responding, Olawumi said the visit would correct the bad impression people had about the service especially regarding non-performance.He said that mails would be better secured if they were sent through the service.Olawumi called for collaboration between the Nigeria Postal Service and NYSC on movement of mails. (NAN)