The Ghana Education Directorate in the Northern region has denied replacing a 17-year-old daughter of a poor farmer in Yendi as winner of this year’s annual president’s award for basic students.
Many people have been seething in fury including the Yendi Municipal Chief Executive since it emerged that Miss Hasanatu Yakubu who completed Abartey Junior High School in Yendi and scored seven ones had been replaced after she was elected by an interview panel from Accra as winner of the top prize.
The 17-year-old girl topped 21 other contenders and was selected but few days to the award day, her parents claimed their daughter had been replaced with a different candidate named Abubakari H. Yussif.
The development has sparked outrage in Yendi and other places with many accusing authorities of the regional education directorate of manipulating the promotion to favor students from rich homes.
The Municipal Assembly also reacting to the incident petitioned president Nana Akufo-Addo to investigate the matter and insisted the award should be given to Hasanatu.
However, in a sharp response, the education directorate has described the allegations as “false”.
“First of all, it’s false to say that, that girl has been replaced. I don’t know what they understand by replacement,” Regional Director, Alhaji Mohammed Haroon Cambodia said.
Alhaji Cambodia clarified further that the girl who came first during the interview was from Tiyumba Junior High School and scored Seven ones and a two and not Miss Hasanatu who had Seven ones and a four.
According to him “when the interview was conducted, the girl concerned came second and not first and we were looking for first girl in the interview, first boy in the interview because it is a boy and a girl that have to be sent by every region, so to say the girl was replaced is false.
“She wasn’t replaced. The first girl is from Tiyumba (JHS) and she is the one who has gone for the president’s award. The second thing is that the first boy was also from Tiyumba”.
He said because a male and a female student were to be presented by each region for the award, Alhassan H Yussif also from Tiyumba Junior High School was selected, though he had five ones and a four to win the male category.
“So all that they are saying, they are false and calculated, fabricated stories to tarnish the hard won image of the Northern Regional Director of Education,” referring to himself.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM/Eliasu Tanko
