Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, the Minister of Education, has warned heads of senior high schools (SHSs) not to prevent any final year student from writing the West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) due to inability to pay school fees.

He said any school authority who flouted the directives would be sanctioned and urged them to allow all students to sit for the examination and rather withhold the result of those who owed fees.

The Minister gave the warning in Accra when he visited selected SHSs including Legon Presbyterian SHS, Achimota SHS and Accra Girls SHS at the start of this year’s WASSCE to monitor the situation on the ground.

Briefing the media after the tour, the Minister expressed satisfaction about the serene environment, the security and safety at the schools, and the peaceful manner in which the exams were being conducted.

Dr Prempeh expressed government’s commitment to begin the free SHS in September to enable more students to enroll and reduce the financial burden on parents.

He urged school authorities to adhere to agreed terms in the payment of fees and be compassionate with parents by not charging unapproved fees since it created financial burden on them.

Dr Prempeh advised the students to concentrate on their studies and not to indulge in any examination malpractices.

Ms Lady Queen Asiedu-Akrofi, the Headmistress of Legon Presbyterian SHS, said 925 students were writing the exams and that all was set for its start.

She said the authorities had psyched up the students and were adequately prepared for the exams both spiritually and physically and expressed the hope that it would make a positive impact on their performance.

Ms Asiedu-Akrofi said it was the expectation of the school to break its own record, where last year 37 students had eight As, hoping to get as many as 100 students this year.

Mrs Joyce Acolatse, the Headmistress of Accra Girls SHS, said 506 students had been registered for the exams with three absentees while Achimota SHS had 936 students writing.

She said the school had prepared the students for the task ahead and was optimistic that they would perform creditably.

She urged them to comply with examination rules to avoid sanctions.

This year, a total number of 289,207 students are writing the exams across the country with Integrated Science as the first paper.