At least 15 final year students of Bright Senior
High School at Kukurantumi in the Eastern re
gion have been denied the opportunity of
writing their papers in the ongoing West Africa
Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE)
for charging their phones illegally in the
school.
The head of the school, Bright Amponsah, is
asking the affected stuctenls to pay a sum of
GH¢ 100.00 for their offence which led to the
burning of an electrical socket, cables, and
blankets or forfeit sitting the exams which they
have duly paid for.
Information gathered by the paper indicated
that with the exception of a handful of the
students who have paid for fear of not writing
the WASSCE, some have been sent home while
others have been refused entry to dining halls
to enjoy meals they have paid for.
While the parents argue that it is unfair to bar
the students from writing the sub-regional
exams, the school authorities have assumed
care-free posture portending that unless the
children pay the charges, they would not be
allowed to enjoy certain services the school
grants to other students.
This comes on the heels of warnings by the
Minister of Education, Prof. Naana Opoku-
Agyemang to heads of institutions to desist
from charging illegal fees.
Speaking to the Daily Heritage in an interview,
some of the parents who pleaded strict
anonymity said the management of the school
is acting arbitrarily "and even if the students
have offended, should they be treated harshly
like that?"
Giving an account of the offence of the 15
students, they explained that the children have
for sometime been charging their phones
illegally in their dormitories without the
knowledge of the school authorities.
"On that fateful day, the socket they were
using to charge their phones exploded due to
poor electrical fittings and sparked fire which
gutted some cables, blankets and their
belongings," they stated.
The headmaster of the school, according to
them, is asking each student to pay a sum of
GH¢100.00 for repair works.
"The money being charged is on the high side
and we are only pleading that they reduce it.
We are not against the children being punished
for their fault, but it should not be extended
to a level which would af- j feet their future,"
they added.
They appealed to the Ghana Education Service
and the minister of education to intervene on
behalf of the children so that they are not
traumatized for being refused to write their
final examinations.
