The practice of some heads of Senior High Schools (SHSs) preventing students from writing the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) still persists, contrary to warnings against such practice.
Final year students of Suhum Presec, are facing tough times getting to sit for the ongoing WASSCE examinations since the Headmistress of the school, Mrs Beatrice Boateng-Sampong this paper has gathered, would not allow them write the exams.
Some aggrieved parents who spoke to this paper regarding the ongoing development at Suhum Presec revealed that the Headmistress is not allowing their children to sit for the final exams over the excuse that they owe fees.
They revealed that even tough majority of the students pay half of their fees, the Headmistress is not ready to allow them entry into the examination hall.
Checks conducted in the school as at yesterday, revealed scores of students were asked to vacate the examination hall and were to return if their full fees are paid.
Others, according to students were only asked to return to the examination hall 30 minutes to the end of the paper.
This unfortunate situation is happening at the blind side of the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ministry of Education.
It could be recalled that the Minister of Education, Hon Mathew Opoku Prempeh gave a warning in Accra when he visited selected SHSs including Legon Presbyterian SHS, Achimota SHS and Accra Girls SHS at the start of this year’s WASSCE to monitor the situation on the ground and instructed heads of second cycle institutions not to prevent final year students from writing the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) due to unpaid school fees.
Also, the Ghana Education Service (GES) has cautioned heads of Senior High School (SHS) to desist from preventing final year students who owed school fees from writing the ongoing West Africa Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE).
In a memo signed by the Director General of the GES, Prof Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa to the Regional Directors of the GES, it drew attention to some heads of SHS preventing final year students who owed school fees from writing the WASSCE.
It, therefore, directed that no student should be sent out of school or prevented from writing the WASSCE and or any examinations for reasons of non-payment of fees or levies.
Oftentimes a usual occurrence prior to and during the WASSCE, candidates are even sacked from the examination halls over unpaid school fees.
The GES gave that directive following a dialogue between the Ghana Education Service and the National Executives of the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS).
Meanwhile, the actions by the Suhum Presec Headmistress contravened directives from the Ministry directing heads of second cycle institutions not to prevent students from writing the examinations.
Parents are therefore appealing to the educational authorities to quickly step in and ensure that their wards are allowed to take part in the ongoing WASSCE.
They also asked that the Headmistress be queried for ignoring such an order from both the GES and the Education Ministry.
Suhum Presec was established on January 31, 1991, as an upgraded institution of ‘Demonstration Junior Secondary School’, an offshoot of the then middle school, during the 1987 Education Reforms.
- PROSPER AGBENYEGA