NSS Boss: Denounce Your Citizenship If You Don’t Want To Undertake National Service

The Executive Director of the National Service Secretariat (NSS), Vincent Kuagbenu, says Private University Students cannot be exempted from undertaking their National Service, unless of course they intend to denounce their Ghanaian citizenship.

According to him, National Service is compulsory for every Ghanaian citizen and so if any student does not want to serve the nation by going through it, then they have to cease being Ghanaians.

A group calling itself Coalition of Aggrieved Private University Students (CAPUS) says it is unfair that private tertiary students are obliged to do National Service when they do not enjoy any government support like their colleagues in public universities.

The aggrieved private university students argue that since government does not sponsor their education, asking them to compulsorily undertake national service after graduating, is grossly discriminatory. They are therefore requesting that government exempts them from undertaking National Service.

Consequently, they intend petitioning the Education Ministry and Parliament for the National Service Scheme Act, 1980 to be amended.

But in an interview with Shamima Muslim on Citi Fm’s Eye Witness News, the NSS Boss posited that: “unless they want to say that they are denouncing their rights as Ghanaians…you under take National Service because you are a Ghanaian…that is what the laws of the state says. You cannot say that because you go to a private institution, you should be exempted…we should not bring this argument to this level.”

Vincent Kuagbenu rather admonished the private students to be good patriots and accept to undertake the National Service as a way of serving their country.

“…all over the world, we are talking about Nationalism…even the United States is making National Service a Civic responsibility because there is too much apathy in the system now…Nationalism is dying…,” he stated.

Source: Rebecca Quaye/Peacefmonline.com