The Ministry of Education, in a statement, has announced that an investigation has been initiated into the widely circulated social media post alleging that placement into Aburi Girls’ Senior High School (ABUGISS) costs GH¢15,000.
One Gertrude Adzo Borklo, in a post on social media, claimed that admission into Aburi Girls’ could be bought with GH¢15,000.
In a statement signed by the Deputy Minister of Education, Dr Clement Apaak, noted the severity of such an allegation.
Part of the statement read, “This feeds into a conspiratorial narrative designed to create the false impression that the BECE Computerised School Placement System is for sale. The Ministry views this allegation with the utmost seriousness and has initiated an immediate investigation. We are committed to ensuring that the integrity of the school placement process remains intact.”
According to Apaak, efforts to contact the author of the post have so far been unsuccessful, as the account was deactivated shortly after publication.
The statement revealed the ministry is working with the National Security Secretariat, the Cyber Security Authority, and other relevant agencies to identify and track down persons.
The statement added, “We wish to state categorically that the BECE Computerised School Placement System is entirely free of charge. At no point is payment required to access this service.
The statement concluded with a call to action: “The integrity and transparency of Ghana’s school placement system must be safeguarded. We urge the public to help expose unscrupulous people who seek to benefit unduly from this important national exercise.”
Meanwhile, the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has boldly stated that he would not accept a student with an aggregate of 37 going into a Category A school.
According to the Education Minister, the ongoing SHS school placement process will be based solely on merit.
He emphasised that anyone found manipulating the system would be dealt with accordingly.
Haruna Iddrisu made this known while addressing concerns raised by some parents.
The Minister of Education stated, “Let me assure you that placement of persons who pass in the BECE exams is ongoing. The Director General sitting here have no access, I have no access, the Deputy Minister have no access. No Deputy Director General has access in order to guarantee the meritorious application of it”.
He detailed, “But sometimes there are other persons who may want to abuse it, and we’ll deal with them as and when we find culprits. For instance, I would not accept a student with an aggregate of 37 going into a Category A school. What would be your justification for that if you hear that a student with an aggregate of 35 or 37 is placed in a Category A school? Does he belong there meritoriously? That is questionable”.
He further touched on the issue of inadequate infrastructure to accommodate the high number of students entering senior high schools across the country.
Haruna Iddrisu noted, “On this matter of boarding schools, the Director General and myself met with the leadership of CHASS. We asked them to give us a list where necessary. But to all this, it just says that the government needs to invest more to expand infrastructure. If Achimota got two additional dormitory blocks and two additional state-of-the-art classrooms, it would double its intake, just as Wesley Girls, Yaa Asantewaa, Temasco, Adisadel or any other school,” he said.
“But the question is, have we invested in them? We have not; so, don’t expect that all of a sudden, we’ll be able to place people adequately. The number of persons who wrote the exams and passed far more exceeds the opportunities available. But we have done well, at least for the first time, we’ve expanded the limit to private senior high schools. Many of the students would be placed within the context of understanding that Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) have been extended to secondary education,” he added.
His comments follow Parents and their wards besieging the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) Hall in Accra over the 2025 BECE placement.
The parents, accompanied by their children, expressed frustration over the SHS placement.
Some parents expressed frustration over challenges of misplaced placements and difficulties in accessing the schools their wards have been placed in.
See the statement below:
