Hon. Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister for Education, has charged the Police to arrest any education official who attempts to receive bribe to facilitate the placement of students in top Senior High Schools.
The issue of fraud in the Computer Selection Placement System (CSSPS) has become a matter of serious concern following an exposé by The Fourth Estate.
"When the Ministry of Education set up a resolution centre at the Bediako Conference Room of the GNAT Hall in Accra, it was meant to address anomalies and mistakes in the placement of students into senior high schools. Investigations by The Fourth Estate, however, revealed that the GNAT Hall had been turned into a market where placements into top senior high schools could be bought like commodities. Top officials linked to the placement executed their trade through a network of intermediaries, mostly security guards and cleaners at the GNAT Hall.
"It was easy to mistake them for scammers blowing hot air about their connections, but, as our investigation revealed, a cleaner who took your money at the GNAT Hall was capable of placing a student you presented in a school which only two top officials in Ghana’s educational system–the Minister of Education and the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES)–had the password to effect such placements", a publication by The Fourth Estate said.
Reacting to the accusations during an interview on "Kokrokoo" show on Peace FM, the Minister stated emphatically that any person caught red-handed must be imprisoned.
According to him, he won't tolerate any of his officials misconducting himself or herself.
“If any person pays money, report to the Police for the person to be arrested and expose who he/she gave the money to”, he insisted.
He advised any official into the business of collecting money to place someone's child in a specific school to desist from it stressing “you deserve to be in prison. I don’t care who you are”.