Minister of Defense, Dr. Omane Boamah, has clarified that the National Service Emergency Response Readiness Programme, to begin in a few weeks, will be optional and not mandatory.

“10,000 national service volunteers are expected to kick-start this initiative with plans to increase the numbers substantially next year. They’re volunteers. It is not compulsory,” the minister said.

Engaging the media today, July 21, as part of the government’s accountability series, he noted that the basic military and emergency response training is a 6-week orientation training scheduled to run in two batches from August to October this year.

The areas of training will include basic military orientation, first aid, basic life support, disaster or fire management, nationalism and patriotism, loyalty and discipline, leadership, mentorship, and physical training, among others.

The programme, currently under discussion between the National Service Authority (NSA) and the Military High Command, aims to equip service personnel with foundational military drills and a sense of national duty.

Speaking at a high-level meeting on April 23, Director-General of the NSA, Felix Gyamfi, described the move as essential for cultivating patriotism and resilience among Ghana’s youth.

“The introduction of this military training is a step in the right direction and must be embraced by all and sundry as one of the indicators for resetting the country, particularly the youth,” Gyamfi noted.

He confirmed that all NSPs would participate in basic military drills and orientation during their service, describing the training as a vital component of national development and identity building.

Representing the Ghana Armed Forces, Brigadier General Amoah-Boakye affirmed the military’s full commitment to the programme, assuring the NSA of the army’s readiness to support and deliver the required training once the programme launches.

The initiative reflects the vision of President John Dramani Mahama, who outlined the programme during his maiden State of the Nation Address to Parliament on February 27, 2025. It forms part of a broader agenda to instill discipline, national pride, and physical preparedness in the country’s graduates.

"To achieve a legally robust regime to govern National Service, I have also tasked the Minister for Youth Development and Empowerment to coordinate and present to Parliament a Legislative Instrument (L.I.) to support the implementation of the newly passed National Service Authority Act 2024 (Act 1119)," President Mahama stated.

Ghana joins a host of nations—such as Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and China—that have integrated some form of military service or basic drills into their national service programmes. These models range from mandatory conscription, as seen in Russia, to more symbolic or limited training, such as in the United States, where compulsory service exists legally but is rarely enforced.

The upcoming NSERRP initiative is expected to not only provide practical survival and leadership skills to service personnel but also help instill a deeper sense of duty and discipline among Ghana’s next generation of leaders. Further legal and operational guidelines will be outlined in the forthcoming Legislative Instrument.

NSA releases pin codes

The National Service Authority (NSA) has released PIN codes for 132,393 prospective national service personnel ahead of the 2025/2026 service year.

This information was made known in a press release issued by the Authority on Tuesday, June 17. The NSA indicated that this year’s intake dropped by an average of 26% compared to the past three years, with a 36% decline in 2022/2023.

The Authority also revealed that it received 135,990 submissions for this year from 122 tertiary institutions. It noted that 3,597 submissions are pending verification of accreditation.

"This figure is part of a total of 135,990 final-year Ghanaian students submitted by 122 tertiary institutions across the country.

"However, 3,597 of these submissions, representing graduates from 22 institutions, have not been processed, as those institutions are currently not accredited and remain unknown to the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC)," it added.

Tertiary institutions have been granted a 30-day window to address their accreditation irregularities with GTEC. Meanwhile, 908 PIN codes for private applicants are currently awaiting final verification from the related institutions to be released.

PIN Code Activation and Registration

Prospective service personnel are required to activate their PIN codes by paying a fee of GHS 40 at any ADB Bank Ltd branch. Alternatively, payments can be made via MTN Mobile Money at a fee of GHS 41.

To begin the registration process, applicants should visit the NSA portal at

and follow the instructions to retrieve their PIN codes and complete the required steps.

New Enrolment Features for Enhanced Integrity

To strengthen the transparency and security of the registration process, the NSA has introduced several improvements to its online enrolment platform:

Facial Biometric Verification: All prospective service personnel must complete facial verification against their Ghana Card data held with National Identification Authority (NIA) prior to accessing the registration form.

Verified Address Input: Applicants must provide a valid Ghana Post GPS address, which will be used for distance mapping and regional posting decisions, to guide proximity to the workplace. Accuracy of this information is essential for effective placement.

Detailed guidance is available at

and registrants may also contact support@nss.gov.gh for additional assistance or chat to us live on the portal.

National Service Authority (NSA)

The National Service Authority (NSA), which was established in 1973, is a government of Ghana programme under the Ministry of Education.

On its website, the NSA noted that “the scheme is mandated to deploy a pool of skilled manpower drawn primarily from tertiary institutions to support the development efforts of both the public and private sectors in Ghana.”

Government Accountability Series

The Presidency Communications Office announced the commencement of the Government Accountability Series which began on Monday, July 14, as part of efforts to deepen transparency and accountability in governance.

The series will be held three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 11 am. It will offer a platform for a tentative appraisal of the government's performance over the last six months. The key sector ministers will present mid-year updates on their sector’s performance.

Last week, Minister for the Interior Hon. Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, who also doubles as the Minister responsible for National Security kick-started the series.

This initiative comes to fulfill President Dramani Mahama's pledge to uphold accountability during his second term in office. In February this year, the president reiterated his promise, instructing all his appointees to be accountable to the Ghanaian people.