By Patrick Biddah
The deputy Minister of Education, Rev. Dr Ntim Fordjour, has urged the management of the National Service Secretariat (NSS) to build on the successes they have chalked over the years.
He said, the future of the scheme in terms of yielding utmost benefits, depends on the efforts by its current staff and management, who are expected to build on the current successes.
According to the Deputy Minister, who doubles as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin South, there is the need for management to recognize the hard work of all those who continue to sacrifice for the good of the scheme.
Speaking at the 50th anniversary of the formation of the National Service Secretariat in Accra on Thursday, the deputy Minister praised the past executives and the current crop of management for doing their best to keep the secretariat going.
The day was also used to remember all the fallen staff and personnel of the NSS for which reason a flag raising ceremony was observed, in addition to a wreath-laying ceremony.
He said the NSS has proven to be an integral part of contributing to both the public and private workforce of the country, which means that its relevance cannot be over emphasized.
He, therefore kicked against suggestion that the scheme must be scrapped , stressing that the scheme has helped to provide services to under-serve and hard-to-reach areas where education was virtually inaccessible.
“ I will be the last to say the scheme should be scrapped. I have personally experienced the benefits of the scheme and can therefore say they contribute to national development “, he pointed out.
“ The future of the school is bright and when you look at the fact that it is a non-partisan institution there are opportunities to further instill the sense patriotism in them to the benefit of all “, he noted.
To grace the occasion, the first Director of the Secretariat, Mr Peter Kpodugbe and another past Executive Director, Mr Vincent Kuagbenu, were all present in addition to other past deputy Executive Directors.
In his welcome address, the Executive Director, Mr Osei Assibey, indicated that the contributions of the past staff and management is worthy of celebrating, because of remarkable services they rendered.
In his view, there is no doubt about building on what has been chalked by those of old.
He expressed his gratitude to the fallen past staff and management for working to bring the scheme to its current state for them to take up the mantle.
The President of the Ghana Journalists Association ( GJA), Mr Albert Kwabena Dwumfuor, pledged the support of the association to the NSS.
He added his voice to the role of the scheme, which he said has contributed to the job market and the field of work.
