Ministry probes allegations of extortion by some headmasters

Cape Coast Oct.11 GNA-The Minister for Education, Youth and Sports, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, on Friday said his ministry was investigating allegations of extortion against some headmasters of Senior Secondary Schools, and that anyone found guilty, would be dealt with.

The Minister said the headmasters are alleged to have collected huge amounts of money from some parents before admitting their wards. Mr. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu said this at the closing session of a weeklong 10th Annual National Conference of District Directors of Education at Cape Coast. It has the theme, "bringing education to the doorstep of every child- a collective responsibility".

The Minister warned that his ministry would not shield anyone caught to have been involved in the malpractice and again warned the heads against the imposition of optional items such as books and clothing on students.

The Minister urged the directors to put in their maximum efforts to ensure quality education in the country.

Meanwhile, the conference said it had identified some constraints and challenges militating against equal access to quality education. A statement by the conference and read by its secretary, Mr Alfred Amortey, mentioned some of the factors including refusal of teachers to accept postings and transfer to deprived areas.

Others are poor nature of roads that make visits to some schools impossible, and lack of adequate basic textbooks for English language, mathematics, integrated science and social studies.

The Directors took stock of their activities and made effective plans for the future and elected new executives headed by Mr Eddy Obeng-Darko from the Atwima district, to run its affairs for the next two years.