Kofi Asare, the Executive Director of Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch), is speaking out about a concerning issue in Ghana’s education system.
According to Asare, the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ministry of Education have declined Eduwatch’s request for data from the Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS).
Eduwatch made the request through a Right to Information (RTI) request after receiving petitions from concerned stakeholders about the system’s fairness and equity. The organization aimed to determine if the government was fulfilling its promise to allocate 30% of Category A school placements to students from public basic schools.
However, their request for data was denied. Asare believes that access to the CSSPS data would have allowed Eduwatch to conduct research and make recommendations to the government on how to improve policies through transparency.
This news comes as the recent JoyNews-Fourth Estate documentary, ‘School Placement for Sale’, which exposed individuals accepting bribes from parents in exchange for school placements in Category A schools.
The police have arrested eight individuals implicated in the documentary, with two others still at large.
Eduwatch is dedicated to promoting transparency and fairness in the education system. The organization will continue to work towards a better future for all students in Ghana