Free SHS Secretariat Denies Bribery Allegations at Kumasi Placement Centre
- The Deputy Ashanti Regional Coordinator Michael Owusu Baafi dismissed bribery claims at the Kumasi Technical Institute Placement Resolution Centre
- Allegations emerged that individuals at the centre were demanding money from parents before attending to their CSSPS placement concerns
- Baafi warned that parents who hand over cash to self-styled facilitators do so entirely at their own risk
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The Free Senior High School Secretariat has pushed back against claims of widespread bribery at its Placement Resolution Centre in Kumasi, insisting that no parent or student should pay anyone a single pesewa to resolve placement issues.
Source: UGC
Michael Owusu Baafi, the Deputy Ashanti Regional Coordinator for the Free SHS Secretariat, addressed the allegations that surfaced around the centre located at the Kumasi Technical Institute (KTI).
A September 9, 2026 report by citinewsroom had suggested that certain individuals were approaching parents and demanding payment before agreeing to help them navigate challenges under the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS).
Baafi firmly rejected those claims, stressing that the placement resolution process carries no fee whatsoever and that every service offered at the resolution tables is entirely free of charge.
What is actually free at the centre
He clarified that while students might need to print certain documents at facilities outside the centre, that step is not a requirement, and no money is collected at the resolution tables themselves.
Baafi added that officials at the centre had gone beyond their standard duties, using their own data and personal funds to contact schools directly and secure placements for students, including printing and forwarding placement sheets to various institutions, all without billing parents.
He also detailed that he had personally stepped in to address the situation, cautioning parents on the ground and removing individuals from the centre after they were found soliciting money from those seeking assistance.
Free SHS Secretariat's advice to parents
Baafi's message to parents was unambiguous.
"We don't take money here. If you give any money to anybody, it's at your own peril. We are admitting students for free," he said.
He reiterated that the Ghana Education Service does not levy any charge for school placement, and urged parents to report anyone who demands payment, rather than comply out of desperation.
The warning serves as a timely reminder as families across the country navigate the CSSPS placement season, a period that has historically attracted opportunists who prey on anxious parents eager to secure spots for their children in preferred schools.
Government caution parents over altered placement slips
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that the Ministry of Education raised the alarm over forged school placement slips circulating on social media, warning that the documents have been digitally altered to falsely suggest that students' placements have been changed.
In a statement dated 9 September 2026 and signed by Press Secretary Hashmin Mohammed, the ministry said initial investigations had confirmed that several slips being shared online did not correspond to records on the official Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) platform.
A key red flag was that the barcodes and QR codes on the suspect documents did not align with the placement details printed on them.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
