WASSCE: President Akufo-Addo directs Education Minister to reconsider ban of 14 students

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has directed the Minister for Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, to engage the Ghana Education Service (GES) to reconsider its decision to ban some fourteen (14) dismissed final year senior high school students from taking the ongoing West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

A statement signed by the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Mr Eugene Arhin said the President is "of the firm view that dismissal alone is enough punishment, and will serve as enough deterrent against future acts of indiscipline".

The statement added that all the other punishments which include the dismissal and the surcharge of some students from destroying school property should remain in place.

"Even though the acts of indiscipline undertaken by these students are intolerable, acts which have led to their subsequent dismissal from school, President Akufo Addo is of the firm view that dismissal alone is enough punishment, and will serve as enough deterrent against future acts of indiscipline," the statement said.

"The President believes that everyone deserves a second chance in life, and is, thus, hopeful that the students will be allowed by the GES to take their final examinations as scheduled.

"Indeed, all other punishment imposed by the relevant authorities should remain in place".

The statement from the Presidency comes hours after the Ghana Education Service (GES) denied some media reports that it had been ordered by President Akufo-Addo to recall the students who were sanctioned on Friday, August 7.

Reacting to the reports, the GES urged the public to beware of fake bloggers and sites in a Facebook post.

Background

The 14 Senior High School students were dismissed on August 7 after demonstrating what the GES described as "crass indiscipline" during the WASSCE examinations.

Aside vandalising school property, some of the students were also seen in foul-mouthed tirades directed at high profile personalities including President Akufo-Addo after their first written paper, Integrated Science. Videos of their abuse have since gone viral on social media.

The GES said the punishment was to serve as deterrence and ensure that life and property are protected in schools.

The GES also interdicted and barred three teachers from invigilating the examination, awaiting the conclusion of investigations into their alleged roles in some of the reported cases.