The Deputy Coordinator of the Free Senior High School (FSHS) Secretariat and head of the Greater Accra resolution centre, Nana Afra Sika Mensah has cautioned parents against paying money to anyone at the center under the pretext of resolving issues with their children’s placement.
She stated emphatically that the school placement exercise was not for sale and parents must help the secretariat deal with some unscrupulous individuals who parade themselves as officials of the centre to exploit unsuspecting parents.
“Indeed, let me re-emphasise that, school placement does not attract any fee whether legally or illegal. I am therefore asking parents who come to the resolution centre here in Accra and our other centres not to pay anything to anybody whether the person is an official or not.
Speaking to the Ghanaian Times at the resolution centre in Accra yesterday, she said the caution had become necessary due to instances in last year where some parents were said to have paid monies to some people to have their wards placed in certain schools.
Meanwhile, the Accra Placement Resolution Centre was jam-parked day two into the resolution exercise.
More and more parents and their wards continue to pour in to the place to have their issues addressed.
Some were there to change the school offered their wards, while others were there to either secure placement or change the status of their wards offering.
Some of the parents who spoke to the Ghanaian Times said they were there to either change the schools their wards had been given or to change their status from boarding today or vice versa.
According to Agnes Teye, she was there to change the school given to her.
She said even though, she chose a school with boarding status, when the placement came, she had been given a day school in the Volta Region even though she had no relative there.
Samuel Blankson however said he was there to secure placement for his son since he was not placed into any of the schools of his choice.
Nana Afrah explained that the resolution centres had been put in place to ensure that every concern of parents would be addressed.
She therefore urged all parents to remain calm and rest assured that all concerns would be resolved.
Nana said the centre would be in operation for the six weeks and it all formed part of the mechanisms put in place to ensure that every child who qualified attended school.
She said those who submitted their issues yesterday could go back and check on Saturday to see whether their concerns had been resolved or not, stressing that “I can assure them that all the issues we have collected today will be addressed between now and Saturday so all of them can go to school.
She expressed satisfaction with the processes so far and prayed all to stay calm.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
