Winkogo (UE), Feb. 26, GNA - National Service Persons have been urged to be sacrificial and diligent in the execution of their duties. The Upper East Regional Director of the National Service Secretariat, (NSS) Mr. George Naawinyelle, made the call in a speech read for him by the Talensi-Nabdam District Coordinating Director, Mr. Michael Zuri, at a workshop, organized for personnel of the NSS and the National Volunteer Service at Winkongo in the Talensi-Nabdam District.

Mr. Naawinyelle asked the personnel not to view their service as mere jobs but as a very good opportunity to explore and develop themselves and the communities in which they served. He said it was mandatory for graduates to do their National Service, warning that, the National Service Secretariat would soon prosecute organizations that employ graduates who do not undertake National Service.

Mr Naawinyelle appealed to the Service Personnel to help bring innovations on development issues, especially in the areas of water, sanitation, health in their communities. He disclosed that District National Service Secretariat through the Volunteer Service Scheme had gone into partnership with the Voluntary Service Oversee, (VSO) with funding from Comic Relief, an international NGO based in United Kingdom, to implement educational programmes dubbed, "Tackling Education Needs Inclusively (TENI)" in the Talensi-Nabdam District in the Upper East, Jirapa, in the Upper West and West Mamprusi District in the Northern Region.

The implementing agents of the educational programme are the Link Community Development, Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC), Pronet North and the NSS. The Project Coordinator of TENI, Mr. Eric Duorinaah, explained that the goal is to improve pupils, particularly girls' transition, from primary to Junior High School and their retention, performance and completion rates in Northern Ghana by 2013.

He appealed to the National Service Volunteer Teachers to work hard to ensure that the project achieves its objectives. He told the Volunteer Teachers that under the project their capacities would be improved through training workshops and sponsoring them to higher educational institutions to become professional teachers.