By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The fate of 3,597 graduates from 22 unaccredited institutions fate in the balance as management of the National Service Authority (NSA) denied them entry into its portal.
According to the Authority, the 3,597 graduates from 22 institutions have been excluded from this year’s mobilisation because those schools are not recognised by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC).
NSA says those graduates will only be considered once verifiable evidence of accreditation is submitted.
The authority has even gone ahead to release PIN codes for 132,393 prospective national service personnel for the 2025/2026 service year.
According to the NSA, the PIN codes released cover graduates from 100 accredited tertiary institutions across the country
The 132,393 prospective national service personnel reflect a 26% drop in submissions compared to the average of the last three years, an outcome the NSA points to as tighter validation protocols and the elimination of inflated or bogus submissions.
In 2022/2023, for example, 144,773 graduates were declared from 275 schools. This year’s figure drops sharply to 132,393 from just 100 institutions, a 36% reduction in graduate submissions and a 63.6% reduction in contributing schools compared to that period.
“All institutional accreditation data referenced in this release has been validated by GTEC,” the NSA stated, urging institutions with expired accreditation to regularise their status within 30 days to avoid complications for their graduates.
In addition to PINs for accredited institutions, another 908 PIN codes for private applicants, Ghanaian students who studied abroad, deferred, or defaulted, are pending final verification. Affected individuals are advised to contact the NSA if their PINs remain inaccessible by June 24.
Prospective service personnel must activate their PIN codes by paying GHS 40 at any ADB Bank branch or GHS 41 via MTN Mobile Money. Registration is to be completed at https://smarthub.nss.gov.gh between June 17 and July 1, 2025.
The 2025/2026 enrolment process features new integrity checks, including facial biometric verification against Ghana Card data and compulsory GhanaPost GPS address input for proximity-based posting.
The NSA also announced a pilot Basic Military Training phase for selected applicants ahead of their main national service deployment. Interested graduates may opt in during registration. Final postings will be done after completion of the six-week training, ensuring no loss of placement.
