Evidence that the Education Ministry purchased some 446,954 sets of past questions at a unit cost of GH¢78 is stirring controversy in Parliament as Minority legislators describe it as exorbitant and profligate.
A Ranking Member on the Education Committee of Parliament and the Member for Builsa South, Dr Clement Apaak, said there has been over 30% increase in the stated cost compared to last year.
“Why government will spend GHS68,513,455.75 to buy 1,035,733 exam questions through sole source from same company two years in a row and agree to pay for same exam questions at GHS78 per unit, when it paid GHS59 per unit only a year ago, a whopping 32% increase, begs the question,†he wrote after asking the question on the floor of Parliament.
“Interestingly, the price of textbooks used by Senior High School students have not increased over the period. So how can cost of past exam questions increased by 32% from the same supplier?†he added.
Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, has justified the purchase of the past questions for candidates preparing for this year’s West Africa Senior Schools Certificate Examinations (WASSCE).
Responding to Dr Apaak’s question on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday, July 14, Dr Osei Adutwum said the past questions for the 2021 WASSCE candidates were procured from Kingdom Books and Office Stationery at a total cost of almost GH¢34 million.
The Minister explained that favourable performance of candidates in last year’s WASSCE justifies the decision.
The purchase of past questions for senior high school candidates has in the past been criticised by some education experts as backward