The National Service Scheme (NSS) has clarified the GH¢40 Online Enrolment Activation fee required from prospective national service personnel to activate PIN codes for the 2024/2025 service year enrolment.
This clarification comes amidst significant public uproar following media reports that suggested the fee was a new and potentially exploitative charge.
In a statement dated Friday, June 21, the NSS addressed these concerns, explaining that the GH¢40 fee is not a recent development. The NSS described the publications about the fee as “twisted and skewed,” urging the public to disregard misleading information and understand that this fee has been in place for several years.
“The National Service Scheme (NSS) has taken notice of concerns raised by a section of the public regarding the GH¢40 fee required from prospective national service personnel to activate PIN codes for the 2024/2025 service year enrolment,” the statement began.
“It is clear that the authors of the storyline did not find out much about the issues and rather sought to twist and skew the story to portray the Scheme negatively to the public, as though this was an extortion, as they suggested in their write-up. Management wishes to clarify that the GH¢40 charge for PIN codes is not a recent development.”
The NSS further emphasized that this fee was originally deducted from the personnel’s first-month allowances but in 2015, the payment method was changed to require service personnel to pay before enrolment.
“The fee was initially paid through deductions at source from the first month allowances of the service personnel after they have been posted. However, the mode of payment was changed in 2015 to allow service personnel to pay before enrolment,” the statement added.
The NSS’s clarification aims to set the record straight and assure the public that the fee is a long-standing practice and not a new financial burden imposed on prospective national service personnel.
The scheme’s management highlighted the importance of accurate reporting and urged the media and the public to verify information before drawing conclusions.