About Us

Institutional Background

1. The need to establish a National Defence University (NDU) by the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to consolidate and coordinate all tertiary programmes was mooted by some individuals a decade ago and subsequently initiated by Maj Gen Emmanuel Wekem Kotia (Rtd), PhD. Some of the Ghana Armed Forces academic institutions have been running post-graduate academic courses for over decades. The Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC), the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) and the National College of Defence Studies (NCDS) have been granted Institutional and Programme Accreditation after being assessed by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC).
2. Apart from the TRADOC schools which are running on the accreditations of their mentored universities, all the schools under the NDU have been granted Institutional and Programme Accreditations by GTEC. GAFCSC was granted Institutional and Programme Accreditations in 2010 and 2014 respectively. Prior to these accreditations, GAFCSC was running Master of Arts Degree in International Affairs and Diplomacy under the mentorship of Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy (LECIAD) since 2000. Additionally, under the mentorship of Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), GAFCSC was also running Master of Arts Degree in Governance and Leadership since 2010. These Institutional and Programme Accreditations were also granted to KAIPTC in 2011 and 2012 respectively and the NCDS received their Institutional and Programme Accreditations in 2023 and 2024 respectively. Meanwhile, the School of Anaesthesia has been granted both accreditations since 2021, while Ghana Armed Forces College of Nursing and Midwifery (GAFCONM) was granted the Programme Accreditation since 2024. Although all these military institutions have been granted Institutional and Programme Accreditations by GTEC, they were however being mentored by other universities.
3. Following a comprehensive review of the existing institutions in the GAF and their programmes, the GTEC recommended to the President of the Republic of Ghana through the Ministry of Education, for the grant of a Presidential Charter and to register the National Defence University in accordance with Section 26 of the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023) to award its own certificates for its programmes that have been accredited by GTEC.
4. Subsequently, in pursuant to Section 29(1) of the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023), the President directed the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Military High Command to establish the NDU using the existing institutions namely the GAFCSC, KAIPTC, and the NCDS. Section 29 of the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 under which the NDU operates is the establishment of specialized degree-awarding institution whose mandate shall be of strategic national importance. The NDU was finally granted Presidential Charter on 19 December 2024 and therefore authorized to independently award diploma and degrees to its colleges.
5. Tertiary education in the GAF was not being managed, funded or structured effectively. There was therefore the need for the establishment of the National Defence University. The National Defence University was granted Presidential Charter to operate as an autonomous accredited higher educational institution. The NDU is authorized to independently award its own certificates for its programmes and has been accredited by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC). The current Colleges registered under the NDU are GAFCSC, KAIPTC, NCDS, GMA, TRADOC, GAFCONM and SOA.

Campuses and Academic Scope

In pursuit of its objectives, the NDU will initially perform its core functions under the six colleges accredited by GTEC while efforts are being made to bring on board other colleges and campuses.

1. GAFCSC Campus. Undertakes Post-Graduate Diploma in Defence and Security Studies (PGDDSS), Masters in Defence and International Politics (MDIP), Masters in Security Studies (MSS) and a PhD in Defence and International Politics.
2. KAIPTC Campus. Undertakes post-graduate courses including the Master of Arts in Gender, Peace and Security, Master of Arts in Conflict, Peace and Security, and the PhD in International Conflict Managements.
3. National College of Defence Studies Campus. Offers a Master of Arts in Strategic Studies.
4. Ghana Military Academy Campus. Would run a Post-Graduate Diploma Course in Military Studies as part of Officer Cadet training.
5. Training and Doctrine Command Campus. Covers courses run by schools under the Command. This consists of satellite department at the School of Education and various trade and specialist schools under TRADOC. The NDU would seek accreditation to convert non-accredited trade courses within GAF into academic certificated courses under TRADOC.
6. Additional Campuses. This includes the Military Health Training Institutions, namely Ghana Armed Forces College of Nursing and Midwifery (GAFCONM) and School of Anaesthesia (SOA). The Services Training Commands, comprising Army, Navy and Air Force Training Commands, which are offering Diploma and Degree courses in specialist fields as part of officers and soldiers career progression courses, will also be included as the need arises.

Staffing, Governance and Academic Control

1. The GAF shall provide the required staff to fill positions at the NDU by recruiting and posting qualified staff. Efforts would be made to encourage qualified military officers to pursue PhD programmes in related fields in the very near future to ensure the University and the GAF is independent and self-sufficient within the academic environment.
2. The GAFCSC, KAIPTC, NCDS, GMA, TRADOC, GAFCONM and SOA will serve as the foundation college of the NDU. To maintain their independence, the colleges will operate autonomously focusing on their core areas and continue to run their academic courses. The NDU, however, will perform the academic control and supervisory role over all academic programmes offered by the colleges. The NDU will retain the overall command, control and supervision of the institutional strategy and policy as well as administration of all academic programmes sanctioned by GTEC. All academic courses and programmes authorized by GTEC and run at GAFCSC, KAIPTC, NCDS, GMA, TRADOC, GAFCONM, SOA and other future institutions will be granted certificates in the name of the NDU.