About 60,700 national service personnel posted this year

Accra, Sept. 30, GNA - About 60,700 national service personnel have been posted to various institutions throughout the country for the 2009/2010 service year.

The posting will be available on the internet for personnel from Monday, October 5.

Out of the figure, 20,000 are voluntary personnel while 40,700 are mandatory service personnel.

About 33,951 service personnel made up of 20,000 voluntary and 13,951 mandatory service personnel have been posted to the education sector to support and improve the quality of teaching and learning at all levels.

About 16,867 service personnel have been posted to government ministries, departments and agencies as well as metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to strengthen the institutions to undertake their developmental programmes. A total of 2,502 service personnel have been posted to the health sector to support health delivery, 4,802 to the private sector, 230 as research assistants to Members of Parliament, 61 for grant reporting and accountability for improved literacy under the Ghana Education Service (GES) and 166 as District Tourism Cadets by the Ministry of Tourism.

Mr Vincent Senam Kuagbenu, Executive Director of National Service Scheme (NSS), who announced these at a press conference in Accra on Wednesday said the posting was in line with Government's development agenda. "The posting is based on the courses offered by the personnel," he said.

Mr Kuagbenu announced that the NSS would introduce a national service farmers' brigade during the 2009/2010 service year to support Government's youth in agriculture initiative. He said the scheme was currently considering the establishment of a medical brigade for the 2010/2011 service year to roll out medical graduates into the scheme to strengthen primary health care and improve rural communities' access to quality health care delivery. Mr Kuagbenu said the values and beliefs that necessitated the inception of NSS four decades ago, were still relevant and urged all prospective national service personnel, parents, professional groups and other stakeholders to consider national service as a national call to duty. He warned that any scheme director at the regional, metropolitan, municipal and district level who would engage in reposting of personnel would be sacked. Meanwhile, the 2009/2010 service personnel are to enjoy a 17 per cent increase on the GHc144 allowance being paid to them. 30 Sept. 09