Parliament summons Ghana’s Education Minister after accountability journalism uncovered school placement fraud

Ghana’s Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has been summonedBy Parliament in what could be the beginning of a public probe into school placement corruption that has been uncovered by The Fourth Estate – MFWA’s accountability journalism project.

Dr. Adutwum is scheduled to appear before Education Committee of the august House on Thursday February 2, 2023.

It is likely that he will be asked how a ring of fraudsters gained access to the Ministry’s computerized school-placement platform.

Even more shockingly, he will be expected address suspicions that his involvement in school placement fraud is conspiratorial.

Fourth Estate investigations

Dr. Adutwum was joined by Prof. Kwasi Opoku Amankwa (ex-Director General of the Ghana Education Service), who became a person to watch after The Fourth Estate had published the story – ‘School Placement Fraud: Education Minister and I should take responsibility – Fmr. Director-General.’

That story was a fallout from a series that blew the lid off the activities of a cartel of fraudsters who somehow are able to access and manipulate Ghana’s Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) to place new junior high school graduates into Senior high schools of their choice (usually category A schools).

These fraudsters commit these manipulations at backhander rates that can reach as high as Ghc20,000. They are essentially destroying the purpose of CSSPS, which was created by government to ensure second-cycle school placements are merit-based.

It is interesting to note that only the Minister of Education, and the Director General of Ghana Education Service have access to the password for the CSSPS platform.

These fraudsters have the ability to manipulate the system. They then have access to passwords that allow them to access the platform and perform their fraudulent activities.

The possibility exists that these fraudsters could have used the placement quotas available to them to commit fraud in return for money.

Wednesday, February 1st, the Education Ministry released a statement stating that it would respond quickly.

An impactful story

Initially, The Fourth Estate’s investigative storyAn announcement was made that the fraud had resulted in the arrest of eight suspectsThey were brought before the courts.  These arrests and ongoing prosecutions do not explain how fraudsters were able to access CSSPS platform, even though only the Education Minister or the head of Education Service have the password.

Kwasi OPOKU-Amankwa was the former Director General of Ghana Education Service, (GES), and he has denied any wrongdoing. He was also reported to have invited the Police into the investigation before he was removed suddenly from office.

He is apparently still willing and eager to cooperate, provided that investigations are completed. This has left the Education Minister feeling very suspicious.

Media fodder

The investigative piece is now a running story. written videoDocumentary formats have been dominating headlines across the country. At least 15 media outlets including all major national television and radio stations and major newspaper publications have featured the story or reported it from angles that interest them.

The story was featured by Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), a state broadcaster that has national coverage.

JoyNews, an Accra-based news agency, has also published parts of the story the arrest of the eight suspectsThey were convicted of accessing the CSSPS platform to fraudulently position students.

The story has also been featured by Metro TV, Adom FM and Metro TV. They are all located in the Greater Accra area.

The story was also featured in major bulletins by Kumasi’s Akoma FM, Connect FM from Takoradi and Jubilee Radio from Keta.

Meanwhile, national broadsheet, Daily Graphic, Ghana’s biggest private newspaper, Daily Guide, along with Lumen Christie, a publication of the Catholic Church and private newspaper, The Anchor, have all published aspects of the story.

All titles from the running story were also published on the websiteOf The Fourth EstateYou can also find other important stories from the past that you can read for free.

Call for Reform

The story has also led to a call for reform in the country’s school selection and placement system.

Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa is a Member of Parliament in North Tongu in Volta Region. called for the abolishment of the protocol system while speaking to the issues that the story has raised on Accra- based JoyNews’ AM Show.

“There is absolutely no reason that this should happen. When we [NDC]We were at Ministry, we didn’t announce any protocol, and Professor Naana Ja Jane Opoku Agyeman was passionately involved in it.

“When you create protocol systems that is where it leads to. We must eliminate protocol and allow everything to be based on merit. Eliminate the human interface window. We say we are doing a computerised system, so let it be computerised,” Mr. Ablakwa said.

About The Fourth Estate

The Fourth EstateIt is A non-profit, public-interest and accountability investigative journalism project of Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA). It aims to promote independent journalism and critical research-based journalism that holds the people they govern accountable.

It focuses on fighting corruption, especially in public sector.

The Ghana-based project prioritizes quality investigative reporting and in-depth reporting in areas such as governance, environment, and human rights. Through independent, in depth journalism, we seek to promote transparency, accountability, and due process in these fields.

It also routinely highlights critical issues affecting people’s lives, shape public policy, empower people and restore public trust and confidence in journalism.