A Letter To The Chief Executive Officer Of National Service

Recent hullabaloos about postings for national service in Ghana today makes many to wonder whether it is an act worth its purpose. Following the release of the postings for 2014/2015, it is common to find many young graduates throughout the country crying foul because of their postings.

Postings for national service today is more or less a matter of connections. These who are most connected get the best of postings in the cities and towns. Those who are less connected or even not connected at all are the ones who faced the wrath of been posted to primary and junior high schools in villages and hamlets throughout the country.

One is tempted to ask, what at all is the criteria been used by these people to do their posting? Are postings done randomly or priority is given to some programs over others. If priority is placed on ones program of study, then why will someone who studies medical laboratory technology in the university be posted to a primary school in Ayiem a hamlet in Amansie West District of the Asante region?When he is supposed to be in the hospital. Why will someone who studies painting and sculpture be posted to the Business advisory center of a district?

This mess of a posting makes me think that national service just aims to engage graduates over the period because it is mandatory but not to let these graduates contribute their expertise to the development of the nation.

If the aim of national service is actually to install the spirit of patriotism in the youth to serve their countries whole heartedly, then I think the authorities should take a second look at their method of postings. Graduates should be posted to places where they can contribute their expertise to the development of the nation.But not forced into places where they have no motivation and no zeal to give out their best.

Also to ensure fairness, NGOS or companies should not be allowed to provide list of people they will need to do service with them, but they should only tell the kind of expertise they want and allow NSS to randomly post personnel to them.

The whole idea of National Service should be re -structured and modeled in such a way that personnel can be used in places they fit into (what they were trained for) for the optimum benefits of the nation. This I think will contribute a lot to the development and growth of our dear nation and also left up the image of National Service.

Written by
Doozie Pius
Email, [email protected]