General News of Wednesday, 1 February 2023

Source: atinkaonline.com

School Placement: 'We're working with relevant institutions to stop future anomalies' - PRO

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The Public Relations Officer for the Ministry of Education, Kwesi Kwarteng, says the service is working with relevant institutions to stop future anomalies in the school placement system.

This statement is in line with an investigative documentary “School Placement for Sale” by The Fourth Estate which captures parents, guardians, and officials in charge of school placement, making deals to put wards in desired institutions.

The Fourth Estate established that The Minister of Education and the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) were the only ones given access and passwords to approve protocol placement into Category A senior high schools.

This was to curb fraud, but The Fourth Estate found evidence that placement into Category A schools happened through a network of intermediaries that included cleaners and security guards.

Meanwhile, eight suspects have been arrested for their roles in the school placement for sale documentary. They are Eric Aggrey, 36, cleaner; Rachel Aryeetey, a caterer; Isaac Mensah, and Gilbert Afriyie Nkrumah, 23.

The rest are Sebastian Appram, a staff of the Fisheries Commission’s Tema Regional Office; Bernard Kusi Agyemang, an operations manager with a logistics company; Eugenia Abigail Ahiable, an administrator; and Daniel Opoku, a foreman.

Reacting to the documentary on Atinka FM’s AM Drive with host Kaakyire Ofori Ayim, Kwesi Kwarteng, said the Ministry of Education is putting measures in place to curb the demand on some particular schools.

“We are introducing measures to give access to a lot of people to get opportunities to school in their preferred choices. We are trying to curb the demand on particular schools.

"It has more to do with demand and supply; at the same time we are working with the relevant institutions to stop future anomalies in the school placement system,” Kwesi Kwarteng added.