SHS PLACEMENT – A KNIGHTMARE!: Open Letter to the Minister of Education – Part 1

Dear Dr Adutwum,

1. Has the Computerised Placements/Admissions into Senior High Schools become a “cash cow” for some unscrupulous individuals, and a nightmare to anxious parents and their wards?

2. Has your office and PRO become a handy piece in the hands of an unscrupulous placement middleman/agent by name Sammy, whose wife is a Police Officer at Achimota Police Station?

3. Has the Church failed this country so badly that someone who goes to Church all the time and mentions the name of God could threaten to deal with me severely at Achimota Police Station had his Police Officer wife not told him that I had left, so both of us could be locked up in the Police Cell because I have equally committed an offence in my effort to secure a good school for my daughter?

Dr Adutwum, my name is Maxwell Maundy, an Author/Writer with the Ghana Association of Writers (GAW). I have become extremely worried and concerned about the happenings in our educational system following my on-going ordeal in my effort to get a good education for my daughter.

Please permit me to bring to your attention and that of the government, civic society organisations, well-meaning Ghanaians and the general public about how unscrupulous persons like one Sammy of Achimota (whose wife is a Police Officer at Achimota Police Station) is taking advantage of the Placement System and subjecting anxious parents like me to a horrendous ordeal.

My nightmare as a parent began following release of the BECE results and the subsequent release of the placements. My daughter got aggregate 17, with placement to Nifa Senior High School in Adukrom. My daughter’s first and choice schools were St Roses and Methodist Girls Senior High.

My daughter is not a genius, but my expectations of her was that she would get a single digit aggregate. For this reason, I made sure that her first and second choices are schools I would want her to attend.

Dr Adutwum, we are all aware of the dissatisfaction about this year’s results, to the extent that The Most Blessed National Chief Imam was calling for the release of the Chief Examiner’s Report. For this reason, much as I had expected a single digit aggregate from my daughter, her 17 is not that bad.

I have heard that a School in Accra is so bitter with the results of their students that they are agitating for remarking of all their students who sat the exams. Apparently, their best result is aggregate 15, first time in their history. Mostly, aggregate 15 would be their worst performing student.

Like every concerned parent anxious about the education and future of their children, I became very disturbed when I saw my daughter’s result. Having witnessed a parent spent Ghc 3,000 last year to secure a grade A School for her daughter, I quickly asked for the phone number of the middleman who helped with the placement. The phone number of one Sammy was giving to me. Sammy lives at Achimota, and his wife a Police Officer at Achimota Police Station.

My contact with Sammy was the beginning of a horrendous ordeal he subjected me to in my desperation to get a good education for my daughter. But for the sake of his wife the Police Officer, I would have published Sammy’s full name for the whole country to know about him. And for the Embassies of the countries he travels to and the diplomatic communities to know that he is a fraudster.

I would very much wish his Pastors and Church to know the calibre of people they are pastoring, as he goes about professing to be a Christian. It is about time we redefine Christianity in this country!

I first called Sammy on the evening of Sunday the 6th of March 2022 to discuss how he could assist me get a good placement for my daughter. This Sunday was the last day of the very week the results were released. So you can see how anxious I was to quickly start preparing to get a good placement for my daughter.

Sammy charged me Ghc 3,500 for the placement of my daughter to a grade A school of my choice. I pleaded with Sammy to make it Ghc 3,000. Next day Monday the 7th of March, Sammy called me in the morning to speed up the process. Sammy asked me to pay at least Ghc 2,000 to begin the process.

I told Sammy that I could only raise Ghc 2,000 on Tuesday the following week. Sammy said that the following week was too far, and that even a parent whose child got aggregate 11 had already come to pay.

Sammy asked me to at least pay Ghc 1,000 for us to begin the process. I told Sammy that I could raise the Ghc 1,000 the following day. Sammy again said the following day was too far.

“Send Ghc 500 today, and top up with the Ghc 500 tomorrow;” Sammy offered.

So I sent Ghc 500 to Sammy on the very Monday to start the process. Next day - Tuesday 8th March. At about 5pm, Sammy called me:

“My brother, where is the Ghc 500? You promised to send Ghc 500 today. I have sent someone else’s details and the guys are asking about the Ghc 500. They want to return the Ghc 500 you sent yesterday and stop your thing.”

I was expecting some money on my Mobile Money then. But with Sammy’s call, I ran to a neighbour to borrow money. With that I sent Sammy the second Ghc 500. The following week Tuesday the 15th of March, I sent Sammy Ghc 1,000. I was now left with Ghc 1,000 to pay.

In the evening of Thursday 24th March, Sammy called and said they have finished with placements, and that it could be out the following day. Sammy then said his guys are demanding the rest of the money early in the morning of the following day. To further aggravate my plight, Sammy said the guys are demanding for Ghc 3,500. They won’t accept the Ghc 3,000 we earlier agreed on. Sammy said that the guys were ready to stop my daughter’s “thing” and return the Ghc 2,000 I had already paid if I do not agree to the Ghc 3,500.

My adrenaline began rising. Prior to Sammy’s call to me that Thursday evening, I had earlier paid my son’s school fees of Ghc 600 in the afternoon. I had been owing my son’s school fees for the previous term because of my late mothers funeral in December last year. On Wednesday, the headmistress of my son’s school sent me whatsapp messages that exams would commence the following week. So I must pay the fees before Monday. That was why I paid the Ghc 600 school fees on Thursday afternoon prior to Sammy’s call in the evening.

In my desperation, I called my son’s headmistress to plead with her to return the Ghc 600 I sent her in the afternoon. I explained to the headmistress why I needed the money. But return was not possible – too late!

The following morning (Friday 25th March), Sammy called to demand the remaining Ghc 1,500. I pleaded with him that I was gathering it. He again called in the afternoon. I told him I had gotten Ghc 500. In the evening, I called Sammy that I had gotten Ghc 1,000. Sammy retorted:

“How about the Ghc 500?”

I begged, begged, and begged Sammy to accept the Ghc 1,000. That I would send the Ghc 500 when I get it. So I sent Ghc 1,000 to Sammy on Friday, making a total of Ghc 3,000. Before accepting the Ghc 1,000, Sammy kept asking me to tell him exactly when I would send the remaining Ghc 500.

In the afternoon of Saturday 26th March, Sammy called to tell me that the placement was out, so I should check my daughter’s own. My daughter was not able to check on Saturday. In the morning of Sunday 27th March, Sammy called to say that his guys at the centre said they were not able to do his thing or all of it. So I should check my daughter’s own and see if it was done.

In the morning of Monday 28th March, my daughter checked her placement only to see Nifa Senior High. I could imagine the disappointment on her face. This is because I had told her weeks ago as to which school she would be attending. She was highly disappointed.

So my daughter’s “thing” was not done in spite of the hell I went through to cough up Ghc 3,000 – even borrowing from the Church – God’s money! Could I be right to pronounce a curse on Sammy for disappointing me even as I borrowed God’s money to pay him? Well, we live to see!

I called Sammy and told him that my daughter’s thing was not done. Sammy said I shouldn’t worry, and that they were working on it.

Tuesday 29th March, Sammy called that by the close of day, my daughter’s thing would be done. He further said that the guys were just waiting for the Minister to come to the office so they would show it to him and do it.

I must emphasise that, Sammy had frequently made reference to the Education Minister’s PRO as being a friend. So he has first-hand information on what is going on. Due to the reassurance Sammy was giving me, I still had faith in him and genuinely believed it would be done.

The turning point however came about on Thursday 31st March. Sammy called. He said Accra Girls and St Mary’s were available. Do I want any of them for my daughter? I then asked Sammy whether our agreed choice would no longer work out. He quickly responded:

“They are still working on it. This is a different team. I work with 3 different teams. So if you give me go ahead, I’ll let the other team do it and send the money to them.”

This was the breaking point for me. Questions began racing in my mind. Does it mean my money is still lying in Sammy’s pocked? I thought about it over and over and over. Saturday morning 2nd April, I called Sammy that I was no longer interested so he should return my money. He said he would tell his guys to return my money.

Sunday 3rd April. At about 5pm, I called Sammy. I ask him about the return of my money. He again said he would tell his guys to return it. He again went rambling “blah blah blah” about PRO. I now know who Sammy was. So I was no longer interested in his “Christian Church Goer and Godly lies.” But just to have a final confirmation of his “PRO”, I asked which PRO. Quickly he said he would not say anything.

I now fully know the character of Sammy. It was now time for me to let him know that he could not fool me all the time. So I would start letting him know my intellect in my subsequent write-ups to him. He can fool some of the people all the time, but not all the people all the time. I did not gain admission to Presec-Legon based on protocol or computer placement. Presec pulled me from my hometown – then a village school with only 3 teachers for 3 subjects for the entire JSS.

Monday morning 4th April. I and my “miserable” daughter set off to Nifa Senior High School in Adukrom. Whilst on our way, I wrote a message to Sammy:

Good morning Mr Sam.

Mr Sam, please do everything possible for me to get my Ghc 3,000 by the close of today. I don’t want to narrate the stress and pressure with which I coughed out the Ghc 3,000 to you for my daughter’s school placement, as you are fully aware of it. But just to state some facts about our dealings after the placement:

Placement was out on Saturday 26th March 2022. You called on Sunday morning and told me that your people have informed you that they were not able to do the “thing,” so I should check my daughter’s own and let you know whether it’s done or not.

We checked on Monday morning and it was not done; I reported to you and you said they were working it.

You called on Tuesday morning to reassure me that it’ll be done by the close of the day, with your constant reference to the Minister’s PRO. You even said that they are just waiting for the minister to come to the office so that they show/tell him, then do it.

Thursday you called me to say that St Mary’s and Accra Girls were available, so they can do it for me if I want. I then asked you,

“Does it mean that xxxxxx won’t be possible?”

You quickly responded “They are still working on it!” You explained further that this is a different team, and that you work with 3 different teams. So if I give you go ahead, you’ll let the team do it and then send the money to them.

Mr Sam, I’m not a psychologist, but I don’t need to be one to be able to read meanings into what you said. One of the meanings to what you said is that, my money is still with you, that’s why you’ll send it to the team that is offering Accra Girls or St Mary’s if I want any of them for my daughter.

Even if my money is not with you, whoever that the money is with, the fact that the person will readily release the money to you to send to a different team that may do it, then there should be no delay for whatsoever for the money to be sent back to me if I’m no longer interested, and so want my money to be sent back to me.

I called you Saturday morning and told you I’m no longer interested, so return my money me. As at yesterday evening, you still told me that you will tell the guy to send the money. This logic will not hold water to your wife, whom you said is a Police Officer.

Mr Sam, please let us not make life difficult for ourselves, than it already is. Just so you know, I have had some training with/by British Intelligence, so I’m not the one whose logic or reasoning can be toiled with.

I’m on the way to Nifa Senior High at Adukrom with my daughter to pick her Admission Form and Prospectus. Please do everything possible to send me my money today. Life is hard, please let’s not make it any harder... Thank you.

My above write up to Sammy was at 08:10 in the morning. My daughter and I were at Nifa Senior High School administration when Sammy called after reading my message:

“My guys at the centre said if they are not able to do your thing by 1 o’clock, they will return your money to you. Please listen to a voice recording I have sent to you.”

Continue at Part 2