The management of the Ghana Education Service (GES) has descended heavily on two headmasters for their alleged involvement in illegal admission of students and collection of money from students under the free senior high school (SHS) programme.
The Headmaster of the Nandom SHS in the Upper West Region, Bro. Joachim Naah has been relieved of his position for allegedly being involved in “illegal collection of fees and illegal admission of students under the free SHS programme”.
The other person, the Headmaster of Adisadel College in Cape Coast, Mr William Kusi-Yeboah, has been interdicted, “pending the conclusion of investigations into alleged acts of violations of procedures of the Ghana Education Service”.
In addition, the Accountant of the Nandom SHS, Mr Rudolf Tengepare, has been moved from the office “for being involved in illegal collection of fees and illegal admission of students under the free SHS programme”.
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Illegal admission, collection of fees
Mr Tengepare is to be reassigned “any other duties in a district office in the region” by the regional director of the GES, who has been instructed to take steps to appoint a substantive accountant for the school.
A circular signed and issued by the Director-General of the GES, Professor Kwasi Opoku Amankwa, to Brother Naah through the Upper West
Regional Director of Education, a copy of which the Daily Graphic has obtained, states: “By a copy of this letter, the regional director is to post you to teach in a basic school in the region”.
The director-general clarified that Bro. Naah was engaged in admitting students without recourse to the Computerised Schools Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) Secretariat and the collection of school fees from students under the free SHS programme.
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Warning to heads
The circular was copied to the sector minister and his deputies, the chairmen of the GES Council and the board of governors of the school, the
General Manager of the Catholic Education Unit and other directors.
The circular also directed the regional director to assign the district director to act as the head of the school, pending the appointment of a new headmaster.
“Management takes this opportunity to caution all heads of SHSs that all acts of illegal collection of fees in all public schools, as well as all violations of the guidelines for the operation of the free SHS programme, will not be countenanced,” it concluded.
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Adisadel Headmaster
In the case of Mr Kusi-Yeboah, the circular indicated that the Central Regional Director of Education was to assume temporary responsibility for the management of the school.
“It is the expectation of management that you will cooperate to ensure early conclusion of the investigations,” it stated.
Prof. Amankwa declined to give further clarification on the specific “acts of violations of procedures”, explaining that those would be made known as soon as investigations were completed.
He explained that the directive “takes immediate effect and the two regional directors are to take over temporary responsibility, beginning tomorrow (Tuesday, January 8, 2019)”.