Final-year students compelled to pay fees before writing SSSCE

Koforidua, July 15, GNA- Some final year students of the Ghana Secondary School writing the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE) were compelled to pay their outstanding schools fees before taking part in the examination.

The fees were paid in bankers' drafts on Tuesday morning when school authorities threatened to sack them from the examination room. Headmistress of the School, Ms Rosemond Bampo, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at the examination centre that some school authorities found it difficult whether to allow defaulting students to write the examination, adding that there were some students, each owing more one million cedis in school fees.

She said the school would have wished to allow the students to write the examination and pay the fees before they would be given the result slips.

''The problem is with the students who may not be performing well at the examination and would not even show up for their results slip let alone pay their fees'', she said.

She said the School registered 523 candidates and all of them reported on the first day of the examination.

At Oyoko Methodist Day SSS, Mr Sylvester P. D. Aidoo, the Headmaster confirmed the issue of non-payment of fees by some final year students.

He said one of the 48 final year students at the school got pregnant and delivered about six months ago but she reported on Tuesday morning to write the examination.

At New Juaben Secondary Commercial School, 274 students out of the 275 registered by the school for this year's SSSCE were present at the first day of the examination.

The Assistant Headmaster, Mr. Joseph Adu, said the other student was pregnant and the parents had to withdraw her from school. At Koforidua Secondary Technical School all but one of the 400 registered candidates were present for the examinations. At Pope John's Secondary School and Junior Seminary, the Assistant Headmaster, Mr Adjetey Sowah, said three out of the 588 students registered by the school had travelled outside the country and the remaining students were all present for the examination.