The Ministry of the Interior has defended the introduction of an Artificial Intelligence aptitude test in the ongoing security services recruitment exercise, stating that the measure was necessary to manage the overwhelming number of applicants.
Briefing the media about the concerns raised by the security service recruitment, the Minister said a structured system was needed to manage the overwhelming number of applicants seeking to join the security services.
His explanation comes after Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin called for the removal of the artificial intelligence aptitude tests used in the current recruitment process for Ghana’s security agencies, citing major technical challenges faced by applicants.
The NPP MP claims that the flood of complaints from the constituents over the current recruiting is unacceptable because a number of candidates were disqualified because of issues with the online testing system.
However, the Minister in his press conference explained that the Artificial Intelligence aptitude test was necessary to avoid human interference in the recruitment process particularly with the online test
“Definitely, you will have to develop something that will help. You may talk about how fair and unfair the thing is but what method are you going to use as a way of not using human interference.
“So, you will have to use a system that is devoid of human interference to enable the system to carry you to that end. Yes, I know the disappointment, I know the difficulty but the issue is about joblessness and not issues about security. All of us want to get a professional police officer,” he stated.
He further disclosed that some security personnel are encountering mental challenges within the services, including personnel with mental health and drug-related issues, stressing the need for strict screening procedures.
“I am sorry to say this we are having people with issue of mental challenges in the Service, we have people with drug issues in the Service. All these are things you use and through that some people will fall along the way to enable you get the best of best.”
Mr. Mohammed-Mubarak acknowledged that some applicants may feel disappointed by the process but urged young people to remain calm and patient.
“I know a lot of young people are disappointed but they should exercise restraint,” he stated.
The Minister revealed that more than 500,000 people applied for recruitment into the security services.
Out of this number, 125,000 applicants qualified to proceed to the medical examination stage after the initial screening.
However, the Ministry explained that current fiscal constraints mean that the government can only recruit about 5,000 personnel into the various security agencies.
