The Education Minister and Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, has called on members of the public to report individuals extorting money for Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) school placements or teacher recruitment straight to the police.
He described the act as criminal and insisted that offenders must be dealt with “decisively and ruthlessly.”
Acknowledging widespread claims of bribery within the education sector, the minister noted that reports of people soliciting payments for school placements and postings into the teaching service damage public trust and must not be tolerated.
Addressing participants on Tuesday, 4 August 2026, at the Governance Series host by Three Reports and the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), Mr Iddrisu stated that anyone with hard evidence of such wrongdoing should head to law enforcement agencies rather than bringing the issue to his ministry.
“People take money for BECE placement. People take money for teacher recruitment. Is that the country we want to build? Certainly no,” he said.
“But when you have the evidence, go to the police station, go to CID headquarters and share your evidence, and they deal ruthlessly with that person.”
He stressed his readiness to see anyone caught in the web of such illicit acts face the full rigours of the law.
“I’m open. If you find anyone involved in BECE placement who is demanding money from a parent or a student, please report it to the police, not the minister. That’s criminal, and it should be dealt with decisively and ruthlessly,” he said.
The minister maintained that openness and accountability remain the most effective weapons for rooting out corruption across public service delivery, particularly in the education sector.
He further challenged citizens to scrutinise how public resources are managed and insist on value for money in state projects, raising concerns over road infrastructure that deteriorates shortly after completion.
According to him, the government, under President John Dramani Mahama, is pushing forward with constitutional, legal, and administrative reforms designed to bolster public institutions and enhance governance standards.
He highlighted corruption as a deep-seated threat within Ghana’s public service, emphasizing that the citizenry must stay alert and report misconduct to curb the menace.
“The best way to deal with it is transparency. So citizens must be awake,” he said.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana