Former Member of Parliament for Suame Constituency, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has alleged that the current school placement system for Senior High Schools (SHS) has been marred by corruption, turning into what he described as a “cash and carry” process.
According to him, some parents now pay as much as GH₵20,000 to secure placement for their children in top-tier schools such as Wesley Girls’ High School and Prempeh College.
Speaking in an interview on Lawson TV’s morning show monitored by Kumasimail, the former Majority Leader described the situation as disheartening and called for urgent action to restore integrity to the placement system.
“What is happening with the school placement process is simply unacceptable. It has become a cash and carry affair before a child can be placed in an SHS, and that is bad,” he said.
He recounted receiving calls from parents who claimed they were compelled to pay huge sums to guarantee admission for their wards.
“Just yesterday, two parents told me they had to pay GH₵20,000 before their children were admitted to Wesley Girls. Others have said they paid GH₵17,000 to get their wards into Aburi and GH₵20,000 for Prempeh College,” Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu revealed.
When asked by the host whether these payments were made directly to the schools, the former lawmaker clarified that the alleged transactions were made through persons who manipulate the computerized placement system.
“It’s the people who handle the placement system. That’s where the danger lies,” he added.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, however, absolved the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, from personal involvement in the alleged malpractice but urged him to act swiftly to curb the growing exploitation.
“Haruna is my good friend, and I can almost take my neck out that he won’t engage in this. But those using his name for such acts are many. He should monitor the process keenly because what is happening is terrible,” he said.
Source: www.Kumasimail/Kwadwo Owusu
