The National Service Authority (NSA) has announced a major initiative as part of the upcoming 2025/2026 national service cycle—a six-week Basic Military Training (BMT) programme aimed at fostering national cohesion and civic responsibility among university graduates.
This new training component, set to launch as a pilot, will be implemented on a limited scale. According to a statement released on Tuesday, 17 June, a selected number of graduates from the next cohort will be deployed to participate in the trial phase of the BMT programme.
The NSA clarified that participation in the military training is entirely voluntary. Prospective participants can express their interest during the usual online registration process for national service.
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The BMT will be conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence and other relevant agencies. The objective is to instil key values such as discipline, resilience, teamwork, and a deeper understanding of national security concerns.
The training is intended to nurture well-rounded, responsible citizens who are ready to support the nation in times of need
The Authority also stated that final postings to user agencies—where national service personnel are typically assigned to work in educational, healthcare, or civil institutions—will only occur after participants have completed the military training.
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However, the NSA reassured the public that no graduate will lose their national service placement due to their participation in the BMT.
This phased approach guarantees that all service personnel will retain their work placements, regardless of involvement in the training pilot
The NSA intends to conduct a thorough review of the pilot’s outcomes before making any decisions on broader implementation.
Earlier, on 3 May 2025, the Authority had announced plans to introduce military training for at least 10,000 national service personnel starting 3 August 2025. The programme is expected to become mandatory for all national service participants from the following year.
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Speaking in an interview with JoyNews on #GhanaConnect, the Acting Director-General of the NSA, Felix Gyamfi, highlighted the broader objectives of the initiative.
This training will instil discipline, patriotism, and prepare our youth to contribute meaningfully to national development
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He further noted that the BMT is designed to equip young people not only for emergency response and disaster relief but also to support efforts against social challenges such as illegal mining, sanitation issues, and environmental degradation.
This year, more than 132,000 PIN codes have been issued for prospective national service applicants—marking a considerable drop from last year’s 176,000. The reduction is attributed to enhanced data validation and stricter vetting of institutional submissions.
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Moreover, over 3,500 graduates from 22 tertiary institutions lacking valid accreditation have been disqualified from participating in the 2025/2026 national service cycle. These exclusions remain in effect until their institutions regularise their status with the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC).
Read Full StoryThe National Service Authority has announced that a limited number of personnel will be selected to participate in the pilot phase of the six week Basic Military Training program.
— SIKAOFFICIAL???? (@SIKAOFFICIAL1) June 18, 2025
Interested individuals are encouraged to indicate their willingness to take part in the training… pic.twitter.com/QGQvs2jpcz
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