SHS Placement Scam: 24-Year Graduate And Teen Arrested

Police in Accra have arrested 24-year-old graduate Vicentia Appiah Antwi and 18-year-old Suzzy Owusu for allegedly collecting GH¢9,500 to GH¢22,000 from parents under the pretext of securing Senior High School placements. The two were picked up after complaints from victims who paid but received no genuine admission for their wards.

Investigators say the suspects posed as protocol officers with links to the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service. They reportedly promised placement into Category A schools, including top schools in Greater Accra and Ashanti, and charged varying amounts depending on the school requested. Parents who paid between GH¢9,500 and GH¢22,000 later discovered the admission letters were fake.

According to the Ghana Police Service, the suspects admitted to receiving money from several parents during interrogation, with evidence of Mobile Money transfers and printed fake placement documents retrieved. The Service warned the public to avoid paying middlemen for school placement and to report suspicious persons promising guaranteed slots.

In Ghana, Senior High School placement is handled through the Computerized School Selection and Placement System, known as CSSPS. The system was introduced to eliminate manual interference and ensure merit-based admission based on BECE results. Under CSSPS, candidates select 6 schools, with Category A schools requiring aggregate 6 to 15, Category B aggregate 16 to 24, and Category C for the rest, while placement is free and automatic.

The WASSCE grading system also feeds into public anxiety around SHS placement. Parents often seek Category A schools because they historically record higher WASSCE pass rates and university placements. The Ministry of Education has repeatedly stated that no official is authorized to charge for placement, and that self-placement and protocol reviews are conducted only through the official CSSPS portal and regional resolution centers.

Police say investigations continue to identify other accomplices and to refund victims where possible. The suspects are expected to be arraigned before court on charges of defrauding by false pretences and forgery, as authorities intensify education against SHS placement scams.

Source: #Howedey.com
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Author: Korkor Anumu