The Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr. Mohammed Amin Adam has urged the Government to place the National Service Secretariat under the Ministry of Manpower Development, Youth and Employment to ensure a comprehensive youth development programme. He said such an arrangement would avoid the duplication of efforts, and ensure the efficient use of resources for the manpower development and employment of the youth in the country. Mr. Adam made the recommendations at a five-day skills training programme for 1,200 National Service Volunteer Teachers drawn from the 18 Districts of the Northern Region in Tamale on Tuesday. He said the volunteer teachers would fill about 26, 000 vacancies in senior secondary schools and basic schools, especially those in the remote communities in the region. Mr. Adam appealed to the government to quantify the contributions of volunteers to the national economy saying, "This would let government appreciate the efforts of the volunteers." Alhaji Abubakar Saddique Boniface, Minister for Manpower Development, Youth and Employment, announced that so far 22,800 youths throughout the country have been recruited as teachers, under the Youth in Education Programme of the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP). He said about 10,800 youths were also expected to be recruited under the Youth in Auxiliary Nursing programme nationwide. Alhaji Boniface noted that the NYEP was not only meant to create employment for the youth, but to also help them unearth their potentials and give them the necessary training to enable them establish their own businesses. He therefore, urged beneficiaries of the programme to develop a savings culture to enable them raise capital to establish their own businesses. Alhaji Boniface also advised them, "You should constitute yourselves into agents of peace, unity and national transformation". Mr. George Gado, National Programme Coordinator of the National Volunteer Programme, said 7,452 volunteers had so far been deployed to all the regions. He said volunteerism was a resourceful venture, citing that when new district assemblies were created through out the country, the 426 personnel recruited to assist in the administration of the assemblies, performed well. Source GNA