The Ministry of Education has promised to probe allegations of embezzlement of registration fees by the headmaster of the Gomoa Buduatta DA Junior High School in the Central region.
Two students of the Gomoa Buduatta DA Junior High School were denied access to write the first paper of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) on Monday.
The distressing incident was a result of the headmaster’s decision to withhold the students’ exam registration fees, subsequently leading to their exclusion from the ongoing examination due to a lack of index numbers.
Fueled by frustration, some parents even threatened to confront the absent headmaster over his perceived negligence, underscoring the gravity of the situation and their determination to ensure their children’s educational rights were upheld.
Addressing the issue in an interview on Citi News on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, the Public Relations Officer of the Education Ministry, Kwasi Kwarteng advised parents not to pay examination fees to head teachers.
According to him, the government covers the costs for final year students in public junior high schools and so there is no need for parents to pay monies to headmasters or teachers.
“It is important to clarify that, unlike students in private schools, students in public Junior high schools are not required to pay when it comes to the registration for the BECE or West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), this is because as part of the free basic education package, the Ghanaian government has apparently taken the cost and part cost of the registration of the BECE and the entire education cost”.
