NYEP RECRUITS PASS OUT (PAGE 13, MAY 27, 2010)

Five Hundred and Seventeen Community Protection Assistant recruits who formed the first batch of trainees under the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) have passed out of the Ghana Police Training School at Pwalugu after a six-week training course.
The recruits, who turned up smartly in their new uniforms of blue shirts and black trousers were taken through courses such as Community policing, Human Rights and Citizenship, powers of arrest, traffic management, crime scene management, foot and mobile patrols, district assembly bye-laws, Law of Evidence, among others.
The recruits would be posted to the various regions to commence work over the next two years.
Addressing the recruits, the National Coordinator of the NYEP, Mr Abuga Pele, who represented the Minister of Youth and Sports, Ms Akua Sena Dansua, said the current management of the NYEP under the National Democratic Congress government had worked out a well defined exit plan to ensure that beneficiaries under the Community Protection Assistant Module were exited properly to continue to contribute to the socio-economic development of the county.
She said for instance, at the end of the two-year service period, the police administration shall absorb a percentage of the CPAs when conducting general recruitment for the service.
According to her, those who were not absorbed by the police administration would be recruited by the private security companies under a Memorandum of Understanding with the NYEP.
She hinted that the rest of the Community Protection Assistants who had not benefited from the above arrangement would be enrolled into the Trades and Vocations module.
Ms Dansua said similar exit plans had been developed for all the modules of the programme.
The Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs Lucy Awuni, reminded the recruits that their activities and general comportment would continue to be monitored during the two years they would be working as CPAs.
She therefore cautioned them to put up their best performance so that they would be counted among those who would eventually exit smoothly into the various security institutions after the two-year period.
The Upper East Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mr Bright Oduro, who was the review officer, reminded the recruits that the training they had received did not make them police men or women.
ACP Oduro therefore tasked the recruits to respect the core pillars of professionalism and discipline, warning that the Police Administration and the NYEP would not tolerate wrong doings and illegal conduct while on duty.
The Overall Best Recruit award went to Hubert Kwaku Afenyo who also picked the prize in Academics, while the Best in Conduct went to Frank Asomah. The prize for best in drill went to Samuel Ansong while the Best in Physical Training went to Selorm Wilson. Micheal Amankwa received the Officer Commanding Award.