The Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) for pupils to Senior High Schools (SHS) has been corrupted, according to the Fourth Estate documentary, in that it is no longer based on merit but instead mandates the payment of vast quantities of money to qualify entrance into particular institutions.
According to the documentary, 10% of spots are often set aside for protocol placements.
Further investigation found that some parents spent up to 20,000 cedis to enroll their kids in prestigious senior high schools.
Mr. Kwasi Kwarteng’s Allegations
The attempt to link the Minister with the illegal payment for school placement, according to Kwasi Kwarteng, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Education Ministry, is terrible.
The Investigative Committee allegedly spoke with the Minister about the allegation; however, the PRO claims that the report does not indicate whether or not the Minister rejected the claim made by the GES Director-General that a fraudulent transaction had been linked to his account.
Later, Mr. Kwasi Kwarteng disclosed that the security guards and janitors who were identified as intermediaries in The Fourth Estate’s investigative film on the contentious “Computerized (School) Placement for Sale” are actually workers for the GNAT Hostel, not the Education Ministry.
He revealed this while participating in a conversation on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Monday, February, 20.
GNAT’s Rebuttal on Kwasi Kwarteng’s Allegations
To help put things to rest, the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) is urging the Education Ministry and GES to release the findings of its investigation into the “School Placement for Sale” incident.
This comes after the Education Ministry’s public relations officer, Kwasi Kwarteng, admitted that the security guards and janitors who were used as intermediaries in The Fourth Estate’s investigative documentary actually worked for the GNAT Hostel rather than the Education Ministry.
Mr. Thomas Musah claimed that the Bediako Conference Hall was given to GES and not the GNAT Hostel in a statement made by the Ghana National Association of Teachers.
Hence, neither the staffing nor the employees who took on the project were associated with GNAT in any way, either directly or indirectly.
GNAT further stated that it found Mr. Kwarteng’s claim that the middlemen seen in the inquiry documentary were GNAT workers rather than members of the Ghana Education Ministry disgusting and intended to harm the association’s reputation.
Additionally, he stated that they strive for excellence and are dedicated to doing what is best for Ghana and its citizens.
Aftermath of the Exposé
After JoyNews and Fourth Estate’s most recent investigative story, “School Placement for Sale,” which exposed rampant fraud in the Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSPSS), the police have detained eight people .
The defendants have been charged and arraigned, said Fourth Estate’s editor-in-chief Manasseh Azure.
