Agona Nsaba, C/R, Nob7, GNA- The Agona District Chief Farmer, Nana Kofi Agyemkum II, has called on the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports to maintain the policy of reserving 30 percent of admissions for the communities the Senior High schools were located.
Addressing Cocoa farmers at Agona Nsaba at the weekend, Nana Agyekum expressed regret that the policy had been cancelled and said farmers were demanding from the Ministry the rational for abolishing the privilege that had been enjoyed by parents mostly farmers since the independence of the country.
Nana Agyekum who is also Adontenhene of the Agona Nsaba Traditional Area, said even though the computer selection and placement system (CSSPS) was introduced to curb corruption in the system it had been abused to frustrate some parents especially those in the rural areas. According to the Chief Farmer in 2005 and 2006 parents enjoyed the 30 percent intake earmarked for communities there had been "a different ball game all together" this year.
The Adontenhene stated that enquiries he made at the Nsaba Presbyterian Secondary School, Swedru School of Business and Nyakrom Secondary/Technical Schools indicated that the 30 percent reserved for communities had been abolished. He noted that farmers leaving in and around these institutions whose children had aggregates 19, 22, 24, 26, 27 and 30 at the BECE did not gain admission even though they chose the schools as their first and second choice.
The Chief Farmer alleged that, "people at the high positions bulldozed their ways into the CSSPS before results were released by the West Africa Examination Council to the disadvantage of our children", he said.
Nana Agyekum said two of his grandsons who recorded aggregates 27 and 28 respectively and had chosen Nsaba Secondary School as their first and second choices were not placed by the computer and called for a review of the CSSPS to ensure "fair distribution of secondary education for every Ghanaian child".
The Chief Farmer said students who had better grades and qualified for the Ghana Cocoa Board scholarship scheme attended private schools and urged the government to take serious view of the situation. The Adontenhene advised parents to check their children from attending film shows and funerals and to rather concentrate on their studies.
