On Friday, 2nd September, 2016, I dropped the hint on an uneasy calm among the rank and file of the Ghana Police Service (GPS). This came after the rumours that went viral on social media about the intention of the service to source for graduates from outside into the top brass of the service.
” We are enlisting graduate into the service… this particular one is concentrating on degree” PRO, SUPOL Arthur told Tv3’s Adattor in exclusive interview on Friday. He promised that the full details will be out in the dailies on Monday, 5th Sept., 2016 therefore I used my wall to appeal to my colleagues to remain calm as we wait for the details.
Lo and behold, the publications were done yesterday but nothing was said about the teaming unrecognized graduates who are already in the service. This has indeed come as a shock to many.
Categories the service intends to recruit these professionals into are; General duties, projects unit, transport and workshop, legal officers, finance, communication. The rest are, communications, religious affairs, audit, medical, estate and the rest.
I am not against opportunity given to graduates who are professionals/specialists into the service. My beef has to do with the situation whereby we have personnel with same qualification with experience and have been performing such duties already but have been sidelined over the years whenever there is the need to recruit graduates to fill vacancies at the top brass. It must be noted that we have thousands of graduate at the lower echelon of the GPS with same qualification and even sometimes better classes than those being sourced from outside to come and manage them. How would one feel if all of a sudden someone who trailed him or her at the university and managed to go home with some pass or 3rd class is being commissioned to come and supervise him or her? And this has been the case all this while! How long can we then keep mute and endure this injustice being meted out to us?
From all indications, the police administration is telling us that if you are a junior rank and you acquire even a PhD you will still remain at the lower rank and go home with it. Giving the opportunity to already trained officers and bringing in fresh graduates to be trained afresh, which one is cost effective and would maximize productivity?
Rev Professor Lartey Lawson, a member of the police council on his tour of the police regions made us to understand at a durbar organised in his honour about few weeks ago at the Brong Ahafo Region that the issue of recruiting graduates/professionals from outside while we have personnel with equal or better qualifications and are more experienced to occupy such positions is being considered only to be slapped in the face with this. “I know a police corporal who has a PhD, why can’t such a person been recognized”, he said. What has changed then?
Ghanaians would be shocked to the bones if junior ranks are to display type of certificates they have under their pillows. From first degree to second degree, LLB, what have you in all areas up to PhD. Is it a fair treatment to continue sidelining these graduates in the service and always go out and bring their counterparts with no experience to come and be ordering them about? What is the motive? I don’t to believe that the senior officers rank is a reserved or birth right for a group of people or a certain class.
To cut a long story short, this publication or development has dampened the spirit of the junior ranks, both those having the degree and yet to have. In fact, there is a lot of grumbling and uneasy calm amongst the lower ranks. I belong to many social media groups mainly made up of junior ranks and some of the things happening in such groups since the announcement of this decision raise a lot of concern. Police administration must come out and clear the air, as to whether serving personnel are allowed to apply or not. Since that has not been stated in the publication. Personnel are in dilemma and need urgent explanation.
When the silence of the people become too loud, the king must certainly be worried.