Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, has denied any wrongdoing following reports a fraudulent payment was traced to his login access.
According to him, there is no iota of truth in the attempt to associate him with the fraudulent payment for school placement.
He was referring to an allegation made by the former Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Prof. Opoku-Amankwa when he spoke to the Investigative Committee probing the matter.
The allegation indicated that after a probe was done using the log report on the system, the account used to place a student at a ‘Category A’ school was traced to that of Dr Adutwum which is being handled by one Ms Vera Amoah.
Setting the records straight, the Minister stated there is no way he will put his reputation on the line given the fact that he has been championing free SHS.
“There is no iota of truth because Professor Opoku Amankwa made that statement and Fourth Estate also reported. It seems there is a deliberate attempt by some people to run down the good work we are doing. There is no way I as a champion of free SHS will destroy it,” he said in an interview on Accra-based Peace FM.
He added he wouldn’t have abandoned his job in US to come to Ghana if it was to be involved in scandals.
Dr Adutwum, however, admitted there is a protocol system through which clergymen, churches, and old students among others take advantage of to get desired schools for their relatives and acquaintances.
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Fraudulent payment for school placement traced to Education Minister’s access
“Why will I abuse my office and take money? I have used my money to build a school for the government for Bosomtwe, I’m sponsoring 100 students in my constituency who are studying medicine. So why will I take monies from people?” he quizzed.
A few weeks ago, The Fourth Estate released the ‘School placement for sale’ exposé that revealed the corruption in Ghana’s school placement system.
Following the exposé, it was found that some eight persons had been arrested by the Police and charged. None of the eight suspects works at the Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, Computerized School Selection and Placement System Secretariat or the Free SHS Secretariat.
The Fourth Estate also found that protocol placement into the ‘Category A’ schools after payments were done could only be approved by the Minister of Education and the Director General of the GES.
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