The government’s decision to spend over 68 million on previous questions for both 2020 and 2021 WASSCE applicants has been criticized by the Minority in Parliament.
Responding to a question on the floor of parliament on Wednesday, July 14, Dr Adutwum said the past questions were procured from Kingdom books and office stationery at a total cost of almost GHC35 million.
Moreover, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, the incumbent Minister of Education, has acknowledged the government’s purchase of past questions for applicants studying for this year’s West African Senior Schools Certificate Examinations (WASSCE).
On Wednesday, Education Minister Dr Yaw Osei-Adwutum informed Parliament that the amount was sourced from the Free SHS account.
“Right Honorable Speaker, in 2020 government through its efforts to help students amid Covid-19 to prepare for the 2020 WASSCE examination, procured 568,755 past questions for students to try their hands on before sitting for the actual exam to help prepare the final year students of our Senior High Schools for the 2021 WASSCE exam. The Ministry has procured 146,954 past questions for the examination and it is paid out of the free Senior High School budget,” he said.
But Deputy Ranking Member on the Education committee, Clement Apaak believes the money could be spent on other priority areas in education.
But Mr Apaak believes there’s no justification for the government to sole-source the contract to Kingdom Books and Stationary.
“I thought that was also strange because if it was not policy and you’re doing it twice in a row and go to the same company, sole-sourced, clearly that should tell you the reason to probe further.
“What is the justification for going to Kingdom books 2 years in a row to procure past examination questions and even at a rate that had varied for about some 32 per cent to do this?
“Actually I have a problem with the pricing as well because sole-sourcing the procurement of this questions from the same company and yet having a variation in the price where in 2021 it is GHC 78 and 2020 it was GHC 59,” he said on JoyNews‘ PM Express.
On his part, the Deputy Education Minister, Reverend Ntim Fodjour disagreed and insisted, such interventions are necessary.
The former Minister of Education Professor Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang, slammed it as backward.
“Achieving good results from our students cannot be achieved by buying past questions. We can only do that by grooming the children well, by supporting the teachers, by putting methods in place for strict supervision and accountability.”
So far 446,958 past questions at a unit price of GHC78 have been procured for the 2021 WASSCE candidates.
This is a 32% increase in the unit price of last year’s, a concern expressed by the Minority in parliament.
Member for Builsa South Constituency, who is also the ranking member on education committee questioned government’s decision to spend GHC68,513,455.75 to buy 1,035,733 exam questions through sole source from the same company two years in a row, and agree to pay for same exam questions at GHC78 per unit, when it paid GHC59 per unit only a year ago. A whopping 32% increase.”
