By Former Headmaster Joseph B. Y. Dery of Centre College in Kintampo, Bono East Region, has been apprehended by the internal security of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), in collaboration with the Kintampo Police Command.
Mr. Dery was arrested on allegations of defrauding the public through deceptive practices related to the registration process for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) School Candidate (SC) 2024. He is currently assisting the Kintampo police with further investigation and legal proceedings.
Aged 52, Mr. Dery is the owner and Principal of Sprinkles of God SHS in Kintampo. He previously served as the Assistant Supervisor for the WASSCE (SC) 2019 at Centre College.
Centre status
Briefing the Daily Graphic, John Kapi, Head of the Public Relations unit of WAEC, revealed that preliminary investigations by security services unveiled that on February 15, 2024, Mr. Dery applied to the council for inspection and granting of a centre status for WASSCE (SC), 2024, which was not approved due to late application.
He further explained that while awaiting a response from the council, Mr. Dery utilized various platforms, including social media, to target local, desperate, and unsuspecting prospective examination candidates for registration in the WASSCE (SC), 2024.
“Victims were misled by banners suggesting that the place was a registration centre for the WASSCE(SC) 2024,” Mr Kapi told the Daily Graphic. He said as part of his set-up, Mr Dery displayed a Dell laptop, a biometric device, an external hard drive and a modem.
“A white piece of cloth on a wall served as background for taking passport-size pictures and his mobile phone served as the camera. “Investigations, however, revealed that Mr Dery only allowed the victims to put their fingers on the biometric device but failed to capture their images or fingerprints as part of the registration process,” the WAEC PRO said.
Mr. Kapi added that investigations further revealed that Mr. Dery charged his victims an amount of GH¢3,400 each. At the time of his arrest, 34 victims had made payments, with amounts varying between GH¢1,000 and GH¢3,400. These transactions were documented in his receipt book titled “Admission and WASSCE Registration for WASSCE(SC), 2024.”
Mr. Kapi highlighted that it’s significant to note that, as part of the examination profiteering dynamics, some individuals engage in fictitious registration of candidates. Subsequently, during the examination period, they shift blame to WAEC for allegedly failing to include the details of these individuals for the examination.
Caution to public
“We wish to reiterate our earlier admonition to parents, guardians and prospective candidates who are currently not in any school to desist from registering for the WASSCE (SC).
“The examination is meant for candidates who are in their final year in senior high school and so, any other category of persons who register for this examination are regarded as unqualified candidates,” the PRO cautioned the public.
Referring to such schools as “banner schools,” he stated that the council suspects there are more institutions engaging in similar practices, enticing and registering unsuspecting prospective examination candidates at exorbitant fees.
“These are not running schools. They are set up purposely to register candidates for the examination. “They put up banners with phone numbers and locations at which they can be reached and because they are not regular running schools, they are not in a position to produce credible continuous assessment records,” he explained.
He said the council was on the lookout for any person or persons engaged in such illegal act and if found out, would be handed over to the police. “The registration of candidates who are not in any regular school will be annulled if found out,” Mr Kapi emphasised.
