The Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum has outrightly denied any involvement in the scandal that has rocked the Computerized School Selection & Placement System (CSSPS).
The denial follows a published investigative work conducted by The Fourth Estate which uncovered that senior officials of Ghana’s Education Sector take bribes in order to place students into first class senior high schools in the country.
According to The Fourth Estate their investigations revealed that the Minister of Education’s password to the system was used in carrying out the wrongdoing.
But responding to the allegations, the Minister of Education who doubles as the Member of Parliament for Bosomtwi in the Ashanti Region emphasized that there is no iota of truth in the claims by the investigative media organization.
Speaking on Accra-based Peace FM, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum further revealed that the said allegation were earlier made by the former Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, Professor Kwasi Opoku -Amankwa which was then reported by The Fourth Estate.
“There is no iota of truth in it. It wasn’t The Fourth Estate that made such claims. It was Professor Opoku-Amankwa, who is no longer the Director-General, that made the statement and The Fourth Estate also reported it. It is not true. Professor Opoku-Amankwa also had a password, why does he think it wasn’t his password that was used? It is false! Some people have decided to destroy progress in the education sector,” he indicated.
According to him, “it will never occur that I, the Minister of Education and champion for Free Senior High School will entertain any practice that will jeopardize the Free Senior High School”.
The Minister further stressed that “for someone to accuse the Minister of Education of receiving bribe to put a child in a particular school, then that person accusing is doing the same so thinks the Minister does it too”.
“I mean how will the Minister of Education collect money to do that which he is accused of? Why will I do that? For Free Senior High School? I have built a school and gifted it to government, Osei Adutwum Senior High School,” he fumed.
He noted that the protocol list is a normal practice to give assistance to some underprivileged students but warned that it shouldn’t become an avenue for extortion or bribe taking.
