The headmaster of St. Augustine’s College at Cape Coast, Joseph Connel, has been suspended by the Ghana Education Service for collection of unapproved fees.

Mr Connel was interdicted for demanding GHS430 from each newly admitted student before handing out admission letters.

Confirming the news to Accra News on Friday October 14, the Deputy Minister of Education, Alex Kyeremeh, said the Education Ministry was tipped about the illegal charges on the afternoon of Thursday, October 13, following which he called up the Central Regional Director of Education to follow up on the matter

“The situational report he brought was that all the allegations were true. So, today (Friday), the Director-General himself visited the school to find out for himself what was going on. So this evening he called to say that he was not happy with what he had discovered, and, so, he had interdicted the headmaster of St. Augustine’s [SHS],” he disclosed to Nana Ama Agyarko.

“He was demanding GHS430 before handing out admission letters to parents for the payment of school fees at the bank.”

He added: “…The action is illegal because it is a public school, so, you should charge only what CHASS and government have approved; you have no power to add even a cedi to the approved amount, much less GHS400. We should not tolerate such action in this country.”

Mr Connel will appear before the GES disciplinary committee and could be demoted or be made to face a criminal trial if more adverse findings are made.