The stakeholders meeting to reconsider the dismissal and barring of 14 final-year students from writing their remaining papers in the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Monday.
The Graphic reports that the Ministry of Education will hold a meeting with the Ghana Education Service (GES) today to consider the directive by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to reconsider the dismissal and barring of 14 final-year students from writing the rest of their papers in the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The reports recalls that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had directed the Minister of Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, to engage the GES on the issue because the errant students deserved a second chance.
Confirming the meeting with the GES yesterday, Dr. Opoku Prempeh said: “I will meet with the GES tomorrow morning and take it from there,” he said.
The Director-General of the GES, Professor Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, confirmed that the minister had scheduled a meeting with him for this morning.
“Since this is a presidential request, our meeting will discuss all the issues and come up with the modalities to carry it out,” he said.
The newspaper says that the Electoral Commission (EC) brought the curtain down on the mop-up voter registration yesterday with registration officials in two regions – Greater Accra and Upper East – expressing satisfaction about the exercise.
The EC set aside the last two days for the mop-up exercise to enable eligible Ghanaians, who were unable to register in the mass registration of voters which ended last Thursday to do so to ensure that no eligible applicant was left out of the national exercise.
In the Greater Accra Region, 2,249 applicants were registered on the first day across the 31 constituencies, reports Timothy Ngnenbe.
A visit by the Daily Graphic to some of the district offices of the EC that served as registration centres showed that the long queues that characterised the mass registration exercise were absent.
The Graphic also reports that the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has made a clarion call for the rejection of presidential or parliamentary candidates, who exhibit or support acts of violence in the December 7 general election.
The Chairperson of the commission, Ms. Josephine Nkrumah, who made that call, said endorsing such candidates would erode Ghana’s democratic gains and throw the country into anarchy.
“What we must do is to reject any candidate who exhibits violent tendencies, acts in a violent manner or condones, accepts and encourages violent behaviour,” she said.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic last Thursday, she stressed that aside from rejecting such violent leaders, they must be made to face the law as provided for in the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019 (Act 999).
Act 999 was enacted to disband vigilante groups, including political party vigilante groups and land guards; proscribe acts of vigilantism in the country and provide for related matters.
The Times reports that Businessman, Patrick Adotevi, who allegedly defrauded two lieutenants of the Ghana Armed Forces of GH₵45,000, under the pretext of purchasing Toyota Highlander and Yaris, has appeared before an Accra circuit court.
Adotevi, 51, charged for defrauding by false pretence, had pleaded guilty with an explanation, saying he normally purchased vehicles from Togo, but his father fell sick and he used the money to take care of him (father).
Adotevi pleaded with the court, presided by Ms. Evelyn Asamoah, to give him time to refund the money, explaining that the father died, and he pleaded with the senior army officers to give him time to refund their monies. Instead, they brought him to court.
Chief Inspector Emmanuel Haligah, who held brief for Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Fuseinu Yakubu, told the court that Adotevi had told the police to give him some time to refund the money.
Chief Insp Haligah said the police did not see Adotevi again, after he was granted police enquiry bail six months ago.
The court entered a plea of not guilty and admitted him GH₵80,000.00 bail with three sureties, two of whom are to be public servants earning not less than GH₵1,000.00.
GIK/APA