Fainting Parents And Students Were Paid Actors & Computers Hacked

Education Minister, Dr. Mathew Opoku-Prempeh, has made an outlandish allegation by claiming that the fainting spell that happened at the Black Star Square on Monday were deliberate theatrics.

According to him, the students and parents who passed out while braving the hot September sun in a bid to be placed in schools of their choice by the Computer Selection and Schools Placement System (CSSPS) feigned the acts for money. He also claimed that the difficulties that rocked the computerised placement system was due to hacking by some faceless hackers.

In an appearance on Asempa FM’s ‘Ekosi Sen’ political talk show, Dr. Opoku Premepeh alleged that those who fainted had been paid between GHC20 and GHC 50 by detractors of government to put on the act.

Without naming names, he said the paymaster behind the supposed theatrics is somebody who wants Ghana to burn so that he becomes President at all cost.

“What happened (at Black Star Square), it is a known person who paid and bussed people there to do that. That they should come and display for the cameras of the media so that we will be embarrassed. And that person’s motive is that Ghana should burn so that he becomes President of the country, but it will never happen.

“Many of the people there at Independence were only there to stage fainting, they loaded them into busses for that purpose….look one party, yesterday sent its communicators to say… they admitted that the placements have been largely successful, 75% to 80% but that they should come and stage the fainting to disgrace the Government. Many people were hired to faint,” Dr. Opoku-Prempeh said in Twi.

The allegation has since sparked shock and anger with many calling on the Minister to resign. Among those making the calls is the National Democratic Congress (NDC) which has described the Minister’s allegation as an insult to the parents and students who suffered the fainting because of the government’s incompetence.

“In any serious government, the Minister would be asked to step down. And I know that the parents whose intelligence he has insulted will demand that he resigns with immediate effect as well,” Peter Boamah Otukonor, Deputy General Secretary of the NDC said in reaction.

According to him, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh’s allegation amounts to adding insult on incompetence because the true reason behind the problems with CSSPS is the advent of protocol placements by the current government.

“When we were in office, you never saw such thing as the near stampede that happened at the Black Star Square. This is because we did not do the protocol placements that they are doing now. To bring this on hapless students and parents and then turn round to say that somebody paid them to faint is unbelievable,” Mr. Otukonor said.

According to the Education Minister, the parents and students who fainted had been paid between ghc20 and ghc50 to stage the acts.

On Monday, some parents and students thronged the Black Star Square to correct misplacements, including the placement of girls in boys’ schools, the placement of students who had opted for boarding schooling in Day schools, and the situation where students with aggregate 6 could not find placement while those with aggregate 35 were placed in schools to read science.