The Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has called for the immediate abolition of artificial intelligence-based aptitude tests used in the ongoing recruitment into Ghana’s security services.

The call by the Minority Leader is due to what he describes as serious challenges faced by applicants across the country.

According to Osahen Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the minority, together with several members of Parliament, had received numerous complaints from constituents who were disqualified during the recruitment process due to difficulties encountered with the online testing system.

Addressing the Speaker of Parliament during proceedings on Tuesday, 10 March, the Effutu lawmaker strongly advocated for reviewing the system to make the recruitment process more accessible to all applicants, particularly those with limited digital skills.

“Mr Speaker, the military did something good. They created a system that allowed people to take the aptitude test directly. If it is possible, the system should be changed to enable our boys and girls who are not educated in ICT to write it manually,” he said.

He explained that many applicants from rural communities face significant difficulties navigating the online testing system.

“I am for AI. I am for IT. But you cannot suddenly call someone from Pusiga or Bunkurugu who knows nothing about IT and ask them to write an aptitude test using AI. If they don’t have the means, they fail,” he said.

Mr Afenyo-Markin stressed that the issue should not be politicised, describing it instead as a systemic challenge that requires urgent attention from the relevant ministry.

According to him, many applicants are forced to spend money at internet cafés to complete the tests, only to encounter technical challenges that prevent them from progressing.

“I think it is a serious system challenge that the ministry would have to look at properly because it is we, the MPs, who are carrying the burden,” he added.

He therefore appealed to the government to review the current system to ensure that recruitment into the security services remains fair and accessible to all qualified applicants.