The National Service Authority (NSA) has called on graduates to adopt a more positive attitude towards national service, urging them to accept postings to any part of the country rather than insisting on locations that are more convenient for them.
Deputy Director General of Programmes and Operations at the NSA, Lieutenant Colonel Moses Dok Nach Kpeungu, said the national service programme is designed to expose graduates to different parts of Ghana while allowing them to contribute to national development.
He made the remarks during an interview on Metro TV’s Good Afternoon Ghana on Monday, September 7, 2026, in response to concerns from graduates who are posted far from their homes. Some graduates, he noted, prefer to remain in Accra because of the opportunities and conveniences available in the capital.
Lt Col Dok Nach Kpeungu stressed that national service is primarily about serving the country and should not be treated as an opportunity for graduates to select their preferred places of work.
“It is national service. You should not pick and choose. Wherever your services are needed and you are posted, accept the postings and go and deliver,” he said.
He added that serving outside familiar surroundings can provide graduates with valuable experiences and expose them to parts of the country they may otherwise never have the opportunity to visit.
“Some of us did National Service in areas that when we mentioned to you, you have to look for a map,” he said. According to him, the one-year service provides an opportunity for graduates to experience different communities and contribute to areas where their skills are needed.
He argued that graduates should therefore see their postings as an opportunity rather than a punishment, particularly because some of the places they are sent to may never form part of their professional or personal journeys again. Lt Col Dok Nach Kpeungu also stressed that graduates should not approach National Service with the same expectations they would have of permanent employment.
He said the Authority regularly engages students before deployment to prepare them for the realities of the programme. “We go to the universities to interact with them and let them know what they should expect after university,” he said. The NSA official said the orientation is also intended to address the anxiety that often comes with leaving university without knowing where one will be posted.
He explained that the Authority takes students through the registration and posting process before assigning them to their various places of service.
But he said graduates must ultimately recognise that National Service is not an employment arrangement where they can determine their preferred location. “We always tell them that, look, this is the situation. It is national service. It is not employment,” he said. He urged graduates to complete their 12-month service wherever they are posted and make the most of the experience. “Go to wherever you are posted to. Undertake your service for the period which is one year, 12 months, and you are done,” he said.
