Managing Director of the Ghana Commission Bank GBC PLC Kofi Adomakoh has urged the Ministry of Education to improve the budget allocation to the National Service Scheme (NSS).
He was speaking at the formal launch of the National Service Scheme’s 50th Anniversary at the University of Professional Studies (UPSA) on Tuesday, October 10 2023 under the Theme: NSS@50: Repositioning the scheme for a sustainable National Development.
He indicated that the budget allocation to the scheme has been adequate in proportion to the economic difficulty the country faces.
His suggestion to the matter was that state institutions should improve their internal generated funds whilst the Education Ministry takes measures to improve budget allocation to alleviate the hardships from the poor economic conditions in the country.
“I would like to share a few thoughts your Excellency on some aspects of the scheme that all stakeholders, government, Ministry of Education, Private companies public sector institutions, and educational institutions need to work together to further enhance the contributions and success of the scheme.”
“I advocate for state institutions to secure ways to improve their internally generated funds (IGF). I pray that the Minister of Education improves the budget allocation to run their operations and complete their projects noting the challenging times in which we operate.”
He also touched on the topic of misalignment in the skills of graduates and the evolving job market.
“The issue of misalignment in the skills of graduates and the evolving job market requirement remains a challenge, it is imperative for academic institutions, the National accreditation board, placement institutions, and the National Service Scheme to create evaluation systems and feedback mechanisms for Service personnel and Placement Institutions.”
Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin added that Parliament will scrutinize the government budget for the scheme.
“The National Service Scheme offers a lot of skills development and I think all of us and I mean all young men and women should take advantage of it. [Parliament] will be prepared to support you. And so, we will be looking seriously into the national budget, the allocation of money to the National Service Scheme will be under scrutiny by Parliament.”
Meanwhile, President Nana Dankwa Akuffo-Addo welcomed the idea and called on the Speaker to expedite the process when the bill is laid before him.
“I am pleased to announce the forthcoming presentation of a draft policy document to guide the scheme implementation the first time in existence that such a policy document would have been presented. Subsequently, a draft bill will be developed, and laid before Parliament for consideration.”
“This draft bill aims to transition the scheme to the statutes of authority providing a legal framework for the envisioned deployment of the employment model. I want to assure the Speaker that much as he is set to scrutinize the budget for the NSS and I welcome that scrutiny. I also want to call upon him to expedite the process of the law when it comes before him in parliament.”
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Story by: Frederick Kunzote-Ani | univers.ug.edu.gh
