- NSS urges final year students to make a positive impact
- NSS is embracing digitalization to streamline the enrollment
- NSS is working towards becoming an autonomous institution
The National Service Scheme (NSS) in Ghana is urging final year students to make a positive impact during their mandatory national service.
Seeking Best Fit: The NSS Executive Director, Hon Osei Assibey Antwi, advised students to apply for placements that align with their academic backgrounds and interests. This will allow them to contribute meaningfully and potentially gain long-term employment after their service year.
Presidential Vision: President Akufo-Addo is committed to ensuring graduates gain valuable experience and secure permanent jobs through national service. The NSS is working towards this goal by carefully matching students’ skills with service placements.
Digital Transformation: The NSS is embracing digitalization to streamline the enrollment and posting processes for National Service Persons (NSPs). This initiative, spurred by the Vice President, will be implemented for the 2024/2025 service year and beyond.
New Policy Established: For the first time in its 50-year history, the NSS has a formal policy document. Developed under the President’s directive with expert guidance, this policy will provide a clear framework for the NSS moving forward.
Sharing Personal Experience: Hon Assibey Antwi, himself a former National Service Person, shared his story of being posted to a remote community. Despite the challenges, he embraced the opportunity, even requesting an extension of his service due to the strong bond he formed with the local people.
Towards Autonomy: The NSS is working towards becoming an autonomous institution, with a bill currently before Parliament. This would allow the NSS to forge more collaborations that create permanent job opportunities for graduates, similar to the existing partnership with plantation farms at Abotantim.
Regional Director’s Remarks: The Ashanti Regional Director of the NSS, Prince Kankam Boadu, encouraged students to choose placements that leverage their education and skills. He emphasized the importance of discipline and courtesy throughout the service period, highlighting examples of past graduates who secured permanent jobs based on their conduct.
University Collaboration: Mr Kofi Adu, Director of Examinations at KNUST and NSS Coordinator, reiterated the university’s long-standing collaboration with the NSS. He shared statistics on student participation in national service, with over 24,000 KNUST students having served in the 2022/2023 academic year.
