GENERAL NEWS

Military training for National Service personnel to be revived

The National Service Scheme (NSS) has initiated discussions with the Ghana Armed Forces ( GAF) to revive the military training programme for Service personnel.

According to the acting Executive Director of the NSS, Dr Michael Kpessa-Whyte, the military authorities had expressed interest in supporting the programme and the fine entails were being worked out.

The National Service Act of 1980, Act 426, which established the NSS, provided for personnel to render a mandatory service for a period of two years, including a six-month military training.

But just two years into implementation of the policy, the military aspect was truncated, following the reduction of the service period to one year.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra last Tuesday, Dr Kpessa-Whyte said the management of the NSS was discussing the financial details and other matters of importance with the leadership of the GAF.

He said the scheme would start the programme with a small number of personnel.

He explained that the idea behind the military training was to inculcate discipline in the youth.

Dr Kpessa-Whyte said a new registration schedule which made the payment of a GH¢20 registration fee a precondition for accessing online registration had been introduced.

Before the new schedule, the GH¢20 registration processing charge was deducted from the first allowance payment.

He said the new arrangement would correct the old system whereby the NSS was forced to pay the GH¢20 to the consulting Information Technology (IT) firm appointed for the registration, whether the service person reported or not.

Dr Kpessa-Whyte said the management of the NSS had developed a new system that enabled prospective personnel to check their postings by texting a number to a short code.

The idea behind the new system was to generate funds for the scheme, he explained.

“With the abundant human resource at the disposal of the scheme, the management is directing posting of personnel to areas where the nation could reap the maximum benefits,” he said.

Consequently, Dr Kpessa-White said, a new posting module had been developed, with specific focus on national needs, including agriculture and agro-business, rural development, educational support, military service, urban sanitation, community health, urban traffic, among others.

Source: Graphic Online

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