Deputy ranking member on parliament’s education committee, Dr Clement Apaak, has expressed his chagrin in the exposé by the ‘Fourth Estate’ which revealed some parents paying bribes to get their wards placed into grade A and B schools.
According to him, the revelation from the investigative piece defeats the purpose for which the Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSPSS) initiated by government. He indicated that the protocol inherent in awarding grade A and B schools to some selected students does not augur well for the education system in Ghana.
“From what I have seen so far, I think what has been uncovered makes nonsense of the CSPSS system. The reason why Ghana as a nation chose to invest colossal amount of money into an artificial system of placing students in senior high schools after their completion of junior high schools was to take away the human element, take away bias and to ensure fairness and equity so that those who are most desiring based on the outcome of their results will get placed in schools that they qualify for.”
Dr Clement Apaak
Dr Apaak indicated that where there is the human element to decide which student goes where, there is a high possibility of placements being biased. He explained that per the video, grade A and B schools which are usually sought after are not being given to students based on merit, as students are placed in these schools on parents’ ability to pay. This, he noted, cannot be the intent and the way forward for the country.
Commenting on the placement system which the ministry of education gives 10% allotment of grade A and B schools for protocol placements after general placements are done, Dr Apaak stated that the protocol reservation is not necessary and totally needless. He highlighted that this phenomenon is usually replicated in almost every other institution that requires recruitment of one form or the other.
“What is the point of that protocol arrangement and allocations?… That is unacceptable. I have been opposed to anything protocol because it never ensures equity, it doesn’t ensure fairness, it is usually biased, and I’m not surprised it is that conduit that is being used as incentive to sell slots… We see it happening with the recruitment of the Ghana Police Service, Immigration, Army and now it is being revealed that it also happening in the placement of students into senior high schools.”
Dr Clement Apaak
Investigate school placement system fraud
The deputy ranking member on parliament’s education committee emphasized that he is totally opposed to anything protocol and urged the education ministry to allow students who qualify go through the needed processes to let them gain admission legitimately and not because of who they are, where they come from and who they know.
Furthermore, Dr Apaak indicated that it is the responsibility of the minister of education to keep a close eye on such occurrences within the sector and not that of the Ghana Education Service, which is simply an agency under the ministry. He underscored that the director general and the minister are the two persons who have access as far as the placement system is concerned, particularly with grade A and B schools.
“So, if we’ve seen that placements are being sold and auctioned for persons to get their wards into grade A and B schools, you cannot tell me that he can feign innocence. If he knows that he has done no wrong, he should have been eager and championing the call for an investigation to fish out those who are doing it so it can exonerate himself.”
Dr Clement Apaak
Given the lethargic attitude of security agencies towards investigating the matter, Dr Apaak lamented that it seems to suggest that it is an “institutionalized cabal” that is at work and perhaps, there are many of such incidents in school placements.
To this end, he called on Office of the Special Prosecutor and the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice to look into the matter. He explained that it is in the interest of the security agencies to be very transparent.
“The fact that this has been known to be happening and yet calls for an investigation has not been championed aggressively, particularly by the ministry leaves a lot to be desired.”
Dr Clement Apaak
Investigations by The Fourth Estate revealed that the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) Hall had been turned into a market where placements into top senior high schools could be bought like commodities. Initially, the hall was meant to address anomalies and mistakes in the placement of students into senior high schools. However, top officials linked to the placement executed their trade through a network of intermediaries, mostly security guards and cleaners at the GNAT Hall.
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