📄“Take Me to the Supreme Court”: When a Headmaster Turned WASSCE Certificates Into Ransom Notes
I remember standing outside my old SHS headmaster’s office, palms sweaty, heartbeat thumping like a bass drum. I wasn’t even in trouble—I was just there to pick up my WASSCE certificate. But still, the tension in that hallway? Thick enough to slice with a pencil sharpener blade.
This was years ago. But when I saw the viral video of a Ghanaian headmaster allegedly demanding GH¢200 before releasing students' WASSCE certificates—and boldly telling them to “take me to the Supreme Court” if they didn’t like it—I felt a knot in my stomach.
Because I’ve been that student.
Broke. Frustrated. Holding on to hope that one brown envelope would unlock the next chapter of my life.
And yet here we are—2025 Ghana—and that same old power play is still haunting young people just trying to move forward.
🎓 It’s Not “Just GH¢200” When You Don’t Even Have GH¢20
Here’s what people who’ve never struggled don’t get:
GH¢200 isn’t pocket change for everyone.
For some students, that’s a month’s worth of food. Or transport to job interviews. Or their shot at applying to a teacher training college or nursing school.
So when a headmaster (who’s supposed to be an educator, not a gatekeeper of dreams) turns around and says,
“You want your certificate? Bring GH¢200—or go to the Supreme Court,”
it doesn’t feel like policy enforcement.
It feels like extortion in a necktie.
And yeah, I know—some schools claim they’re using the money to “clear debts” or cover “PTA arrears.” But let’s be honest: that’s not the students’ problem anymore. They sat the exams. They passed. The certificates belong to them.
💔 This Is Why Some Graduates Stay Stuck
I know a girl from our town—Ama. Bright, focused, the kind of student who carried an entire group project on her back. She finished SHS with decent grades but couldn’t get her certificate because she still owed GH¢120 in “school levies.”
She didn’t have it. Her mum sells koko in the mornings and her dad passed when she was 9.
So guess what? She stayed home for two years. Missed two application windows. By the time she got the money, her dream school had moved on without her.
Now tell me again how it’s “just GH¢200.”
🧑🏾⚖️“Take Me to Court”? Bet.
The boldness of this headmaster, though? Whew. Saying on camera, “You can go to the Supreme Court, I don’t care” like he’s some kind of local kingpin.
Let me ask:
What message does this send to the next generation?
That if you’re in power, you can hold futures hostage?
That certificates—which are legally the student’s property—can be used like bargaining chips?
That your arrogance is above accountability?
In my experience, this is exactly why people lose trust in institutions. It’s not the big scandals that break us—it’s the little, daily injustices that pile up until we’re emotionally numb and chronically hopeless.
⚖️ But Honestly… What Can Be Done?
I’m not totally sure, but something’s gotta give.
Maybe it’s time for the Ministry of Education or WAEC to step in with stricter rules about post-exam certificate release. Maybe we need an online database where students can access soft copies, regardless of petty headmasters.
Or maybe—it’s just time to call this what it is: systemic gatekeeping in school uniform.
Because you know what?
No student should have to beg or bribe their way into their own future.
🧠 So Here’s My Question:
How many dreams have quietly died in school corridors because someone didn’t have GH¢200?
How many potential teachers, nurses, coders, entrepreneurs—just disappeared into the shadows because one person decided their progress wasn’t profitable enough?
And if we keep allowing this, without raising hell about it, aren’t we just saying, “Yeah, that’s Ghana for you”?
Well, I’m tired of that phrase.
And maybe you are too.
Keywords (naturally included): Ghana headmaster GH¢200 WASSCE scandal, certificate withheld over fees Ghana, Supreme Court WASSCE certificate issue, student rights Ghana, education corruption Ghana, school bribery Ghana, Ministry of Education certificate policy, headmaster viral video Ghana.
Let’s talk about this. Share this with someone who needs to hear it—or someone in power who needs to answer for it.