The Executive Director of the Institute for Educational Studies (IFEST), Peter Partey Anti has petitioned the Ministry of Education on the status of the procurement process for the Scientific Mathematical Instruments for some Senior High school students.
According to IFEST, its survey across the country indicates that 78 percent of students who wrote the Core Math paper on Monday did not have access to the instruments.
“If at the end of the day, these things have not been delivered, we are asking the Ministry of Education to tell us the current state of the procurement processes”.
Parliament on July, 13, 2020, approved a tax waiver of $3.2 million for the supply of KAPEK scientific mathematical instruments to be procured for use in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
According to a report of the Finance Committee of Parliament, WAEC has resolved to supply students with the instruments which will reduce the incidence of examination malpractice.
Dr. Mark Assibey Yeboah, the Chairman of the Finance Committee in laying the report said, “The Minister of Education sort approval to use single source tendering method for the supply of KAPEK scientific mathematical instruments. In order to successfully import the equipment, there is a need to waive taxes and duties applicable. It is in this regard that the request for waiver of taxes and duties has been submitted to Parliament for approval in accordance with Article 174 of the 1992 constitution”.
“Again the request is to seek approval for the waiver of taxes amounts to the Ghana cedis equivalent of 3,214,538 on KAPEK scientific mathematical instruments supply to the Ghana West African Examination Council for use during the examination”.
The agreement between Education Ministry and Messrs Bluegrass Group Limited was to see the company supply 853,009 units of the Kapek Scientific Mathematical Instruments.
Concerns from Minority
The Member of Parliament for Ashaiman, Ernest Norgbey, raised some concerns with the procurement of the math sets.
The Ashaiman MP in an interview stated that government’s decision to procure the items under a single source initiative breached the Public Procurement Act 663.
The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, also said the government should have considered better value for money analysis before approving the tax waiver.
“Nakaraj Mathematical instruments are GHS12 and that’s the most expensive one. This is GHS75. So what really went into this? We are told that it comes with some calculator and some other features. The report says that it is a scientific mathematical instrument with a calculator attached. The matter that we need to avert our minds to is value for money because if you attach a calculator to this, we are sure if you add a calculator to this package for GHS75, is it really value for money? And also it wasn’t clear if it was a competitive tender,” Ablakwa said.
