Unqualified Police recruits
DAILY GUIDE has learnt that some recruits currently undergoing training at various police training schools have been asked to go home for not meeting the appropriate qualifications.
The Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), David Asante-Apeatu, in a sweeping action since assuming office, sacked 206 recruits for failing to meet the standard academic qualifications for enlistment into the Ghana Police Service.
The sacked recruits, who were undertaking their training at five centres, were believed to have been improperly recruited in a typical ‘job for boys’ manner.
The recruits, who are midway into the mandatory six-month training for trainees, have already packed out from the centres at Pwalugu, Ho, National Police Training School, Accra; Police Training Schools in Koforidua and Kumasi.
A breakdown of the dismissals is as follows: Accra 20, Kumasi 20, Pwalugu 99, Ho, 43 and Koforidua 24.
Until the IGP’s order, there were 2,996 recruits in training at the various centres, with Pwalugu topping the list with 835 followed by National Police Training School, with 653.
The two cases of recruits with no certificates at all are shared by Pwalugu and Ho.
A February 2, 2017 signal or circular signed by the Director General, Human Resource Directorate of the Ghana Police Service, Commissioner of Police Beatrice Vib-Sanziri, to the Pwalugu Police Training School Commandant reads, “I am directed by the Inspector General of Police to inform you to withdraw from training all recruits who do not meet the required academic qualification as follows only BECE (44), BECE and NVTI (22), NVTI (22), BECE and NAPTEX (7), NAPTEX (2), WASSCE (15),, City & Guilds (1) and No Certificate (1).”
Recruits who submitted only WASSCE have been referred to the CID for further vetting. It is suspected that such a vetting could unearth instances of malfeasance because it is unthinkable that holders of WASSCE would not have BECE to prove authenticity of the senior high school certificates they claim ownership of.
The afore-mentioned correspondence is a replica of what has been sent to the commandants of the training schools, the contents of which have been complied with as demanded, DAILY GUIDE has gathered as evidenced in the packing out of the centres by the affected recruits.
Weeping
The recruits at Ho who were asked to leave last Saturday were seen weeping profusely as they packed bag and baggage to leave the training school.
An instructor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, hinted that in all, about 43 out of the 470 admitted were sacked.
After withdrawing the affected recruits, the Commanding Officers were also directed to submit a full list of the recruits withdrawn from the training to the Headquarters for further action.
Most of the instructors at the Ho Training School expressed their excitement over the withdrawal of the unqualified recruits, stressing that they made teaching a nightmare.
They indicated that although they were aware that some of them did not meet the academic qualification, they had to just make do with the situation because they were following orders.
One of them lamented, “During the admission process all unqualified people were weeded out, yet some managed to find their way back all because of protocol and other political connections.
“Would you believe it if I told you some of those sacked cannot spell and speak basic English? Yet, because of protocol and politics they are all here.”
The recruitment into the Ghana Police Service, as it is with the other security agencies, has been politicized in the past few years as government appointees and ruling parties push their unemployed school leavers into the system – some of them unqualified for consideration.
By A.R. Gomda& Fred Duodu, Ho