Former Ghana Bar Association (GBA) President Lawyer Yaw Acheampong Boafo has attributed corruption in the senior high school (SHS) placement system to the intense demand among parents for their children to attend so-called “Grade A” schools.
In an interview on Abusua FM’s Bresosem program with Millicent Safo-Adu, Mr. Boafo explained that the government’s practice of categorizing SHSs by grades fuels persistent bribery and corruption in admissions, regardless of which administration is in power.
He said, “The real problem is the pressure from parents who believe that if their child does not attend a prestigious school, their future will be compromised.”
Lawyer Boafo emphasized that this mindset drives corruption, as families seek to secure placements at elite institutions such as Wesley Girls, Prempeh College, Achimota, and Mfantsipim.
“I don’t believe parents are paying bribes for their wards to be placed in lesser-known schools like Twede3 Secondary or Boanim SHS; bribes are aimed at top-tier schools,” he noted.
According to him, the Free SHS policy itself is not to blame. Rather, it is Ghana’s prevailing mentality about school prestige that leads parents to intervene through corrupt means.
“It is not because of the Free SHS policy per se, but because of our mentality in Ghana that if my ward goes to school, he or she must attend a certain school. That is why there is always pressure on those schools,” Mr. Boafo stressed.
Reflecting on past admissions practices, Lawyer Boafo acknowledged earlier challenges when headmasters themselves accepted bribes
He recalled, “In the past, when headmasters handled admissions, we heard they took bribes and accepted protocols. So, we computerized the process because computers don’t know how to take bribes.
“But what we forget is that here in Ghana, the mindset we use to steal if the same mindset were channeled into development by now we would be at the same level as Singapore,” Mr. Boafo asserted.
However, he warned that since human operators program these systems, they remain vulnerable to manipulation.
“I believe that any system introduced will be exploited by people. As long as there is a computer placement system that is programmed by people, the system will eventually be compromised,” Mr Boafo stated.
In other development, Mr. Yaw Boafo further reiterated his suggested revising school fee payment policies.
He explained “When I was the President of the GBA, I said that now that we have the Ghana Card, some people should be allowed to pay fees while others should not, depending on their income, but they didn’t understand. We hear of people paying 20,000, 15,000, and other amounts. Someone who can pay such an amount to secure computer placement for their ward at Opoku Ware, Prempeh, or Mfantsipim why should the government waste resources to pay that ward’s school fees?”
Source: www.Kumasimail/Kwadwo Owusu
