A former Executive Director of the National Service Scheme (NSS), Vincent Kuagbenu, has punched holes into Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s proposal to make national service optional if elected president.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer at a public lecture on Wednesday outlining his vision as the next president stated there must be a shift in the year-long mandatory programme.
Dr Bawumia pointed out that there must be a restructuring to pave the way for graduates who yearn to secure immediate jobs after tertiary education to do so.
However, Mr Kuagbenu disagrees with the proposal.
According to him, the Vice President may not appreciate and understand the relevance of national service because he has no personal experience.
“National service is free. What is paid to service personnel is a stipend. That is about 40% of what graduates will earn if they are employed in the public service or civil service.
“They are rather saving the state billions of cedi. I know for a fact that he [Bawumia] didn’t do national service, so he doesn’t understand how much this country is saving from the services of personnel,” he stated.
Mr Kuagbenu suggested the country should be interested in measures to improve the scheme and make it better.
“We must even improve the scheme and ensure that we harness the skill of human resources,” he added.
READ ALSO: