Former NSMQ Winner Among Students Arrested In America For Alleged Document Forgery

• A former NSMQ participant whose team won the 2021 contest is reportedly among the four students who have been arrested in America
• Evans Oppong, a former student of Prempeh College, allegedly forged some documents to gain admission to a university in the US
• Meanwhile, an educationist, during an exclusive interview with YEN.com.gh argued that NSMQ is a competition that allows biologically intelligent students to contest for their schools

Evans Oppong is allegedly among the four students arrested in America for the forgery of high school transcripts.

The former student of Prempeh College was among the NSMQ contestants who led Prempeh College to victory in 2021.

The four accused were studying at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, where they gained admission after allegedly forging their senior high school transcripts to inflate their grades.

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Per Graphic, based on the allegedly falsified transcripts, three of the students received financial support of $212,933, $127,213, and $129,244, respectively.

The four - Evans Oppong, Otis Opoku, Cyrilstan Nomobon Sowah-Nai, and Henry Dabuo - are facing charges of forgery and theft of services and are currently being held on $100,000 bail.

It was also reported that complaint against Oppong, who gained entrance through a scholarship programme, was still being processed.

Preliminary court hearings are scheduled for next week (September 24, 2024).

See the post below regarding the arrests:

It was also reported that an investigation was launched when Lehigh flagged the transcript of Jude Dabuo - Henry Dabuo's older brother - due to a number of inconsistencies and errors.

The Admissions Office uncovered similar discrepancies in Henry Dabuo's transcript as well as the applications of the three other students implicated.

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The four are reportedly being held on $100,000 bail and a GoFundMe campaign has been started by their friends to help finance their legal defence.

NSMQ debate following Richlove's comment

A young Ghanaian lady recently became the talk of the town after making some remarks about the science and maths quiz. She argued that the quiz is just a show and shouldn't be used to measure how good a school is or how intelligent its students are. Following the arrest of the four, which include a former NSMQ star, many Ghanaians have indicated that Richlove has been vindicated.

Counsellor weighs in on NSMQ debate

However, an Educationist, Daniel Fenyi, countered her argument, insisting that NSMQ allows biologically intelligent students to compete for their schools.

"I believe that the National Science and Math Quiz is a tool for measuring the quality of a school. So when they come, and one school performs better than the other, it is fair to conclude that this school is better than the rest. I can tell you on authority that the JHS students who recently selected their senior high schools can get one or two of these students who chose the schools that excel in the quiz," he said,

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Netizens react to student's arrest in US

Netizens who saw the post about the four men's arrest took to the comments section to express their disappointment and sympathy with them.

@sahabela wrote:

"Things that will block genuine people chance."

@damian_yb8 wrote:

"Herr masa sika wei de3 Jail straight oo. But how did they get such amount of financial aid?"

@efo_phil wrote:

"Dem make the job go hard now. Bibini de3."

@Gracebal0 wrote:

"I feel sad for them because all they want is to go to a good school."

@Henry_Emileo wrote:

"Oh slow! This one straight back to Ghana oo. Them no go allow you do cleaning work sef. Make them run na Ghana no good."

@scholarlygh wrote:

"very bad."

@leslie_kkkay wrote:

"Edwuma nu 3si."

When Evans Oppong secured US scholarship

YEN.com.gh previously reported that Evans Oppong had secured a scholarship to study at Lehigh University in America.

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Lehigh forgery: Friends of former NSMQ star and three others speak, initiate steps for their release

Evans was a member of the successful Prempeh College team that won the 2021 National Science and Mathematics Quiz.

Non-profit organisation The Ckodon Foundation announced on X at the time that he had earned a scholarship worth $312,776.

Proofread by Berlinda Entsie, journalist and copy editor at YEN.com.gh

Source: YEN.com.gh