About 195 students of the College Senior High School in Darkuman, Accra have descended on the school Wednesday, accusing authorities of failing to register them for the West Africa Senior Schools Certificate Examinations (WASSE).
Students across the country started this year’s exams conducted by the West Africa Examinations Council (WAEC) Tuesday, but the 195 students are angry that they are not taking part.
According to Joy News’ Nana Abena Oppong, who reported from the school, the irate students have set the school’s director’s car ablaze and have also destroyed several school properties including computers.
She reported that, Director of the school; Ato Abraham has been arrested by personnel from the Odorkor Police Station who were at the school premises to restore order.
Albert Cornelius, Headmaster of the school speaking on the Super Morning Show on Joy FM disclosed that the school made a formal complaint to the police on the matter Tuesday.
He admitted that the 195 students “have paid” their exams registration fees but due to a long standing dispute with WAEC, they have been prevented from writing the exams.
Albert Cornelius said the school’s issue with WAEC started in 2011 when the examination authority accused them of registering students who were not their “bonnafied property [students]”.
He explained that WAEC begged the court to settle the issue out of court paving the way for students of the 2012 batch “to write the exams last minute.”
The school’s results were held by WAEC, due to the case, he said, but were later released. WAEC, he added, served the school with a letter stating the school had been de-recognized as an examination centre.
According to the headmaster, the school was waiting for the examination authority to give them feedback as to what should be done and how much the exams would cost the school this year but “WAEC kept tossing us.”
Agnes Tei Kudjo, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of WAEC reacting to the story on the Super Moring Show said they faulted the school for registering students “who were not their bonnafied candidates,” in the 2011 exams.
Due to that, she said, they de-recognized the school and slapped them with a three-year-ban not to present candidates for future exams.
She said WAEC considered the ban and allowed the 2012 batch to write the exams due to a court ordere.
Agnes Tei Kudjo noted that, although the school was not supposed to present any candidate for the exams, WAEC wrote to the school to give a list of their 2013 examination candidates for possible considering which the school did not reply.
“If we want a school to present candidates for any exams, we write to the school and give them the fees. We did not do that with College High because they were not going to present any candidate if their school has been derecognized,” she explained.
She wondered why the school could go ahead to take examination fees from the students when they have been de-recognized.
The WAEC PRO advised the school to consider registering the students for the November-December examinations and urged parents to find out more about the schools their wards attend.