Ten security recruits have been dismissed from Ghana’s security services training schools for allegedly flouting a ban on mobile phones, exposing what the Interior Minister, Muntaka Mubarak, describes as a worrying culture of indiscipline among some recruits.
Addressing students of Sakafiya Islamic Senior High School in Kumasi, on August 29, the Minister attributed the problem partly to poor discipline at the secondary-school level, warning students that the ability to follow rules is critical to succeeding in the security services.
“Look at the vigorous nature of the security services, the program that we carry. It was so vigorous that over half a million people applied. We ended up taking only 10,000. Indiscipline. People get there, people got there and they were hiding their phones. The moment you get to training school, we take all your phones. Some decided to hide their phones and, in the night, they were making calls,” he said.
According to him, “Some of them were caught. At least, I have been written to, at least about 10 students have been dismissed from training school for holding phone.
Why will you be so indiscipline? Can’t you just follow the rules? And you know why they can’t follow the rules? When they were in secondary school like you, they were refusing to follow the school rules.”
In a related development, more than 6,000 applicants into the security services were disqualified after failing newly introduced drug and mental health screening tests, Interior Minister Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak has revealed.
Speaking in an interview on Pan African TV on Saturday, the Minister disclosed that over 100,000 applicants underwent medical examinations as part of the recruitment process — a figure that prompted authorities to expand the scope of screening beyond routine physical and laboratory checks.
“We have over 100,000 people who went through the medicals. Because of the large numbers, and because of what we have observed within the services, we introduced additional checks including mental health assessments and drug tests,” the Minister stated.
The results were striking. More than 4,000 applicants failed the drug tests, while approximately 2,000 others were disqualified on mental health grounds.
“Interestingly, over 4,000 people failed the drug test, and we have over 2,000 who also failed due to mental health conditions,” Mr Muntaka added.
The Minister said the findings underscored the critical importance of thorough screening to ensure that only physically and mentally fit candidates are enlisted into the security services, particularly amid growing concerns about personnel wellbeing within the sector.
The inclusion of mental health and drug assessments marks a significant shift in Ghana’s security recruitment process and signals a broader commitment to raising standards across the country’s security agencies.
