By Belinda Nketia
The National Service Authority (NSA) in a press release on 17th June 2025, has introduced new security protocols and cracked down on unaccredited institutions in its 2025/2026 national service rollout.
Of the 135,990 students submitted by tertiary institutions, 3,597 were rejected because their schools lacked accreditation from the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC). The NSA says these institutions will have 30 days to regularize their status, or their graduates will not be mobilized.
To prevent future loopholes, the NSA has rolled out several digital safeguards, including:
- Facial biometric verification matched against Ghana Card data
- Mandatory GhanaPost GPS address input to guide regional placements
These changes aim to eliminate fraudulent entries and ensure accurate, fair deployment of service personnel.
“This year’s numbers reflect not a drop in graduates, but a rise in accountability,” the NSA noted in its June 17 release.
A total of 908 private applicants, including returnees and defaulters, are also being processed and will receive their PINs after verification.
Under previous NSA leadership of former Executive Director Osei Assibey Antwi and Deputy Executive Director Gifty Oware‑Mensah amongst other individuals, the NSS payroll was allegedly inflated by more than 80,000 ghost names alongside other scandals as identified by Operation recover all loot (ORAL), a committee set up by President John Dramani Mahama to investigate past corrupt government officials.
The fallout from this scandal directly informs the Authority’s latest reforms such as facial biometric verification, GhanaPost GPS address validation, and rigorous accreditation checks all designed to close loopholes that enabled the ghost-name fraud in the first place.
Find full release below: