IT Specialist Arrested For Scam In Nursing School Admission

An IT expert suspected to be behind a syndicate that hacks into the online nurses training school admission system of the Ministry of Health has been arrested by the Police.  

The suspect, Isaac Kwesi Otibu, 27, an official at the IT Department of the Accra Regional Hospital School at Ridge is said to have generated his own online forms and receipts in the name of the Ministry which he sold and issued to prospective students.  

An accomplice, whose name is being withheld for security reasons, has also been arrested.  

The accomplice is said to have mounted an illegal sales point for the sale of the forms, although they were to be bought at the health training schools.  

The syndicate, which has been detected nationwide in all health training schools, is said to have cost the Ministry of Health about GH¢ 3 million representing 50 percent of its internally generated funds from the sale of the nurses training school admission forms. 

Prospective students pay GH¢80.00 for online forms, after which they are issued with receipts with special codes which are used to fill the admission forms online. 

The Accra Regional Police Crime Officer, Chief Superintendent Paul Natongma said the suspects are being processed for court on a provisional charge of forgery. 

The Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Health, Tony Goodman, said the suspects have been syphoning revenue due the Ministry and defrauding applicants for some time now. 

He said the fake forms were sold in vans, illegal sales points and internet cafes across the country.

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