Ranking Member of Parliament's Education Committee, Dr Clement Apaak, has expressed worry over Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia's proposal to make the mandated National Service Scheme (NSS) optional.

According to Dr Apaak, the Vice President’s decision to make the service scheme optional may lead to a lack of patriotism among Ghanaian students after completing their tertiary education.

His comment comes after Dr. Bawumia on Wednesday, February 7 stated that it will no longer be mandatory for graduates to undertake NSS if he is elected president in the upcoming general elections.

Read also: National Service won’t be mandatory under my presidency – Bawumia

However, speaking in an interview on Accra-based Citi TV, Dr Apaak claimed that enacting such a law would just create a convenient exemption option for the children of the political elite.

He highlighted that making NSS optional could lead to bribery and corruption because the programme is so important, especially for individuals seeking to work in the public sector.

“Time without number, you may have heard persons who have been nominated for ministerial positions being asked by the Appointments Committee where they did their national service and whether they have certificates.

“And so by saying that we are going to make it optional, you are totally destroying what we know and replacing it with a system that will only exempt the sons and daughters of the political elite.”