The Headmaster and Proprietor of the Kekeli International School, 2nd Low Cost, a suburb Aflao in the Ketu South Municipality of the Volta Region have been arrested for allegedly registering 62 foreign students illegally for the ongoing Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
The Two, Headmaster, Innocent Agblevor and Proprietor, Ammanuel Mawuli were arrested last Monday, June 10, 2019 first day of the exams and were in the custody of the Aflao Police and assisting with investigations.
The Municipal Chief Executive, Elliot Edem Agbenorwu who confirmed the incident to Daily Guide noted that the two were arrested at Ghana RC school Examination Center at First Low Cost where 12 schools including Kekeli International were slated to take their exams.
He said out of the 156 students registered for the exams by Kekeli International, 62 students are suspected to be Nigerians studying at the Faith Mission School in neighbouring Togo.
He explained that the school head and the proprietor were arrested because, preliminary investigations sanctioned by the Municipal Security Council, which he chairs found that the students were smuggled and not properly documented under the Ghanaian immigration laws.
Secondly, instead of registering the students as foreign students as done by other Togolese Schools like Sylvia Modern International and Sylvia Montessori, the culprits registered the students as Ghanaian students.
Particularly when they might have charged the parents of the students huge sums of money to do so.
More so, they suspected that the school might have forged their continues assessments to make them eligible for registration.
Mr. Agbenorwu who was unhappy about the situation explained that the MUSEC had intelligence about the conduct of the 2nd Low Cost based Kekeli International School in Alfao over a month ago and painstakingly made the necessary checks before acting last Monday.
He said at the time they suspect a number of schools were planning to do a similar thing, they in collaboration with the Municipal Education Directorate held a number of sensitisation seminars and education programmes to caution schools in the Municipality against such conduct.
He bitterly condemned the act and said the conduct of the school had serious security, diplomatic and socio-economic implications, particularly in times of terror attacks.
“If 62 students could be smuggled into the system imagine if they were terrorists or criminals?” he quizzed.
He also added that government was sponsoring the BECE registration for all Ghanaian students and hence, smuggling foreigners meant that economic burden was on the tax payer.
This could have a rippling effect on the free Senior High Education programme of the government.
“In fact can even affect the National Health Insurance registration and the national Identification card registration, this is bad,” he stressed.
He said although the students are being allowed to write the exams they will be monitored.
From Fred Duodu, Ho (K.duodu@yahoo.com)