The Education Ministry has extended the 2026 Senior High School (SHS) placement exercise by at least one week.
The one-week extension is to give students with outstanding placement issues more time to secure schools before the reopening date.
According to the Education Ministry, the extension will allow students undertaking self-placement or seeking changes to their residential status to complete the process ahead of the September 18 reopening.
They disclosed that the resolution centres across the country will remain open from Monday to Friday.
The Education Ministry noted that significant progress had already been made in resolving the challenges.
The Education Minister, press secretary Hashmin Mohammed, speaking to JoyNews, stated, “Out of the 53,887 category of self-placement students, we have had 33,726 who have been able to self-place themselves into various schools and out of 9,948 reported cases at the resolution centres throughout the country, the CSSPS Secretariat has been able to resolve 4,531 so far”.
“The resolution centres will remain active from Monday till Friday, and we are hoping that by Friday, the numbers should be able to go down because on September 18, they will report to school,” he added.
Meanwhile, Haruna Iddrisu, the Education Minister, has admitted that he is struggling with the 2026 Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS).
The Education Minister admitted that the Education Ministry and the CSSPS secretariat have come under overwhelming pressure to respond and be responsive to the needs of Ghanaian students and parents.
He made this known while hitting back at the Minority Leader of Parliament, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, over his recent claims of a crisis in the education sector.
According to Haruna Iddrisu, the Minority Leader is exaggerating the situation for political benefits, quizzing him whether Ghana’s Educational crisis started just one and a half years ago.
He argued that the current challenges, especially the placement into SHS (Senior High Schools), are nothing new and have been happening over the last eight years when the NPP was in government.
Speaking in an interview on TV3 on Friday, September 11, 2026, Haruna Iddrisu stated, “And the crisis only happened one and a half years ago. That’s interesting. You know, for a Minority Leader, sometimes I reach out to them, and sometimes I give advice. I have always said that compromise is not a weakness, particularly in a democracy. You must give and take, and it’s important that we preserve the democratic ethos of our country.
“… The office of the Minority Leader is a very important office. So when you are not sure, don’t speak. Have you ever seen me retracting my words? No. When I speak, then I’m certain because the truth must rest with the Minority Leader,” he said.
He added, “In government, you may fumble; you may struggle because your government is inadequate. For instance, I’m struggling with placement… I would accept that we have come under overwhelming pressure to respond and be responsive to the needs of Ghanaian students and parents, justified, but it does not mean we should exaggerate it as a crisis.”
“So when the Honourable Afenyo-Markin says crisis, did that crisis start one and a half years ago? He should provide answers for that,” he added.
His comments follow Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the Minority Leader in Parliament, raising concerns about Ghana’s education, calling for a critical national conversation to address the challenges confronting Ghana’s education system.
According to Afenyo-Markin, the latest WAEC results must concern every Ghanaian, adding that the results show that the future of our children is under serious threat.
The minority leader argued that 183,233 young people completed secondary school without obtaining a credit pass in Core Mathematics, while the credit pass rate in English Language fell to 62.40%, its lowest level in four years.
He further noted concerns over BECE candidates’ placement, where 54,985 candidates were initially denied automatic placement into senior high schools.
Afenyo-Markin argued that more than 200,000 young Ghanaians are at risk of being left behind at both ends of the secondary-school system, calling on the government to stop reacting only when problems become public.
The minority leader urged the Mahama government to treat this as a major national crisis requiring immediate action and lasting solutions, saying, “When our children’s education is in crisis, Ghana’s future is in danger. The time to act is now”.
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