Two arrested for alleged bribery in free SHS exercise
Two individuals have been arrested for alleged involvement in bribery and manipulation during the ongoing Free Senior High School (Free SHS) placement exercise.
This was revealed by the Deputy National Coordinator of the Free SHS Secretariat, Dr Belinda Glover, who emphasised that investigations are ongoing and all offenders will be held accountable.
Dr Glover explained that the suspects were submitting multiple sheets with requests to alter school placement details, such as switching from day to boarding or changing programmes.
“We have been able to arrest some of them. In fact, they come with multiple sheets trying to make changes, such as switching from day to boarding or boarding to day, or sometimes changing programmes,” she said.
Dr Glover stressed that the Secretariat has clear rules to prevent abuse of the placement process.
“The ideal situation is that you can’t have more than five children going to senior high at the same time. So, we have been able to track down those people, and we have handed some of them over to the police to deal with them,” she indicated.
Dr Glover warned those attempting to misuse the system.
“We are saying that you cannot come here with more than two sheets. Anything beyond two means you are here to do business with us, and we are not ready to accept that. We have handed over about two individuals to the police. Beyond two sheets, you are here for business, and we are not here for business, so we will arrest you,” she noted.
Dr Glover further addressed the public directly about the misuse of the system for personal financial gain.
“We realise that these people are just collecting money from others and then coming here, using us to make money, even though we are here to help the public. But as much as we want to help the public, we also have to be as smart as possible,” she added.
The Free SHS Secretariat also assured Ghanaian parents and students that it will continue to monitor the placement process closely to maintain fairness and transparency.
