The Right To Information(RTI) Commission (hereafter Commission) has determined that the Ghana Education Service(GES) should pay a penalty of Gh 50, 000.00 for ignoring and refusing to release information about Mr. Edward Allan Agbeti, Headmaster of Dzodze-Penyi Senior High School who has recently been interdicted.
The Commission imposed the penalty after GES ‘failed, neglected and/refused to respond to a request’ made by the Commission on 19th December, 2024; to grant access of information to Mr. Selasi Aklotsoe Mensah.
Background
Headmaster of Dzodze-Penyi Senior High School, Mr. Koffi Adiabo (also known as Prince Koffi Adiabo) is under investigations for the unauthorised use of names and credentials of one Mr. Edward Allan Agbeti who is a teacher in Mafi Avedor in the North Tongu District.
In a declaration made in court, Mr. Edward Allan Agbeti narrated that he made an acquaintance with Mr. Adiabo Koffi around 2000 – 2005.
According to the accounts given by Mr. Edward Allan Agbeti, Mr. Adiabo Koffi encouraged him to apply for a job with a company; TOUGU FRUIT, a pineapple fruit producing company.
Currently, Mr. Adiabo Koffi has been interdicted to allow for investigations following a petition made by the Ghana Education Service (GES). However, Mr. Prince Koffi Adiabo has not shown up nor responded to an invitation by the Volta Regional Ghana Education Service to answer questions about the allegations raised against him, for close to two (2) months now.
Yet, Mr Edward Allan Agbeti has been invited and has since been questioned by the Volta Regional Education Service. The documents he has presented have since been forwarded to the Headquarters of Ghana Education Service for further to be taken.
Facts
On 27th September, 2025 Mr. Selasi Aklotsoe Mensah (hereafter Applicant), with rights granted under the RTI Law requested information from the GES through the Information Officer, the application reads;
“KINDLY GIVE DETAILS OF Mr. Edward Allan Agbeti’s qualification, Headmaster of Dzodze-Penyi Senior High School, and confirm if he was a student of Mount Mary College of Education and University of Cape Coast, including the year he completed and the programmes he offered”.
However, the Information Officer refused to grant access to the information with the reason that the information was exempt under Section 16 of the Right To Information Act 2019, Act (989).
Dissatisfied with the response, the Applicant petitioned the Director-General of GES for an internal review on 26th October, 2024. But no response was given.
The Applicant on 4th December, 2024 petitioned the Commission after not receiving any response from GES.
The Commission faithfully carried out its mandate and its core mandate was to determine whether or not the information requested was exempt under Section 16 of the RTI Law, Act (989)
Exempt Information
Mr. Edward Allan Agbeti claimed Mr. Adiabo Koffi ‘fraudulently’ had access to his certificates and obtained some of the certificates from the company without his knowledge, when he applied for the job.
Section 16 (c) of the RTI Law states that
Disclosure is unreasonable if it reveals or it is likely to reveal information about the individual’s
(c) confidential professional, commercial, or financial affairs.
Upon review of the information requested by the Applicant, the Commission believes ‘the qualification of an individual holding public position can not be exempt from disclosure.
In addition, the Commission finds that ‘a person who holds public position must be SCRUTINIZED ( emphasis is mine) to determine whether or not that person is qualified for the position. Without such scrutiny, people might provide FAKE qualifications to hold public office’.
Section 16 (3) (j)
This section further provides that,
Disclosure is unreasonable if;
j) the individual to whom the information relates was informed or made aware prior to supplying the information or that the information belongs to a class of information that will or might be made available to the public
The Commission touched on this part of the law which gives exemptions for the disclosure of information which the GES was relying on to deny access.
‘Since Mr. Edward Allan Agbeti is working with the Ghana Education Service and has already provided his qualifications to GES, by accepting such a public appointment his qualification can not be deemed exempt information. The Commission therefore does not find the information requested as being exempt from disclosure’.
Determination By RTI Commission
Per the authority granted the Commission under Section 43(2) (c) of Act 989 to make recommendations and impose penalties in relation to cases before it, and the additional powers granted under Section 72 (2) (f) for the Commission to impose administrative penalties on public institutions that fail to comply with an obligation required under the Act, the Commission has made the following determination against GES.
a. Based on the Respondent’s (Ghana Education Service) failure to comply with the obligation under Act 989, as an administrative penalty of Gh50, 000.00 is imposed on the Respondent (Ghana Education Service) and this shall be payable to the Commission not later than 14 days after the receipt of this decision. The penalty so imposed shall attract an additional default penalty rate of 10 percent on the principal penalty sum of Gh50,000.00 in the event of default for any additional 14 days thereafter.
b. The Director-General shall ensure that the information requested below is released to the Applicant not later than 14 days after the receipt of this decision by the Commission, and same copied the Commission:
“KINDLY GIVE DETAILS OF Mr. Edward Allan Agbeti’s qualification, Headmaster of Dzodze-Penyi Senior High School, and confirm if he was a student of Mount Mary College of Education and University of Cape Coast, including the year he completed and the programmes he offered”.
c. The information ordered to be released to the Applicant under paragraph ‘b’ supra shall attract a charge of Gh0.27 per page where it is to be photocopied. If the information is to be released in a printed form, a fee or charge of Gh 0.38 shall apply and where the information is to be released in a computer readable format a fee or a charge of Gh 0.29 should be applied for the information per page pursuant to the Fee and Charges (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2022 (1080).
Ghana Education Service (GES) Response
The Ghana Education Service (GES) is yet to speak on the determination by the Right To Information (RTI) Commission or make any public statement on the ongoing matter.
A request for an interview which was submitted to the Director-General since 25th March, 2025 has yet not been responded to. Follow-ups have been made and the reception so far suggests that the GES is not interested in opening up on the matter now.
More on this to follow
By Selasi Aklotsoe Mensah
Disclaimer: The opinions and views shared in this article do not represent that of the newspaper but that of the writer. [email protected]
