The National Service Authority (NSA) has suspended the deployment of graduates from 13 tertiary institutions after the schools were found not to have accredited status.

The decision follows a verification exercise by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), which was conducted after the institutions submitted their graduating students for national service.

In a statement signed by NSA Director-General Ruth Dela Seddoh, the authority said GTEC had confirmed that the affected institutions “do not currently have accredited status”.

The institutions are Multimedia Institute of Ghana, Abbeam Institute of Technology, Star College of Communication, Standard College of Technology, Institute of Commercial Management, UK, Christ Apostolic University College and Oxford Institute of Business and Journalism.

The others are Heaf Professional Colleges, NIIT Open Labs Ghana, Community University College, Takoradi, SS Peter and Paul Pastoral and Social Institute, Adonai University College of Research and Entrepreneurship, and College of Tropical Agriculture.

The NSA said it was therefore unable to deploy graduates submitted by the institutions “at this time”.

It stressed that the decision was based on accreditation information provided by GTEC, the statutory body responsible for regulating and accrediting tertiary institutions in Ghana.

The affected graduates could still qualify for national service if their institutions resolve their accreditation issues, the NSA said.

“Graduates from the affected institutions may be considered for national service deployment once the respective institutions resolve their accreditation issues with GTEC,” the authority said, adding that GTEC must formally confirm their accredited status before deployment.

The NSA said it would process and deploy eligible graduates once such confirmation was received, subject to applicable national service requirements.

It urged the affected institutions to engage directly with GTEC to regularise their accreditation status.

Graduates were also advised to liaise with their respective institutions and await official communication from the NSA.

The authority said its verification and deployment procedures were intended to safeguard the “integrity, credibility and transparency” of Ghana’s National Service Programme.

The NSA added that it would continue working with GTEC and other stakeholders to ensure that only graduates from duly accredited tertiary institutions are mobilised for national service.