The Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, has explained that the pass mark for the ongoing security services aptitude test was set at 65 because of the limited number of spaces available in the current recruitment exercise.

According to him, the decision was necessary to reduce the number of applicants progressing to the medical stage of the recruitment process.

Mr. Mubarak explained that although more than half a million Ghanaians applied to join the security services, the first phase of the recruitment would only absorb about 5,000 recruits.

He noted that after the initial body selection and documentation stages, only a small number of applicants were disqualified, leaving more than 400,000 candidates eligible to sit for the aptitude test.

The minister indicated that allowing all those candidates to proceed to the medical examination stage would be unfair, especially because applicants are required to pay for the medical tests.

“Are you going to allow over 400,000 people to do medicals when there are only 5,000 spaces?,” he asked.

Mr. Mubarak explained that the pass mark was therefore fixed at 65 to drastically reduce the number of candidates progressing to the next stage.

He disclosed that even with the pass mark set at 65, about 105,000 applicants had still qualified to undertake the medical examinations, which remains far above the number of available positions.

The minister stressed that government wanted to avoid a situation where thousands of young applicants would spend money on medical examinations despite having little chance of being recruited.

He explained that the medical tests include several checks such as drug screening and mental health assessments, which contribute to the cost of the process.

According to Mr. Mubarak, the President had directed that the data of candidates who successfully pass the medical examinations should be kept for future recruitment exercises.

He said this would allow government to consider them in the next phase of recruitment instead of making them go through the entire process again.

Mr. Mubarak noted that the current exercise forms part of the 2025 security services recruitment, adding that government hoped to conduct another recruitment exercise once the country’s financial situation improves.

He added that applicants who pass the medical stage but are not selected in the current phase may only be required to repeat the medical examinations if a long period passes before the next recruitment.

By: Jacob Aggrey