Haruna Iddrisu, the Minister for Education, has boldly admitted that the Computerised placement system is not working well for Ghana.
The Education Minister promised to review the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS).
Speaking during his visit to the Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School (PRESEC), Legon, on Monday, October 20, Haruna Iddrisu acknowledged that some parents and students are unhappy with the school placement.
The education minister speaking to the media stated, “I have observed that some parents are unhappy, justified. Some students are unhappy, justified, because they chose a particular course, Science, and were given General Arts or Business. That would be a disincentive even for that child to study hard and do his best.”
“It means that the computerised placement system is not working well for the country, and I’m happy to review it, and I will review it,” he said.
He further revealed, “I’ll put in place a committee to review its performance over the decade, and then give me a credible alternative. What we need is meritorious admission. Nobody would accept that you get an Aggregate 6, and you can’t get the spot of your first choice. That’s unfair, and we’ll look very closely into that.”
“My understanding, as I’ve gone around this morning, is, we need to manage the crisis in the provision of quality Free Senior High School in Ghana. To manage it will mean deliberate, sustainable investment in education, expanded classrooms, expanded laboratories, expanded dormitories for the learners.”
The Education Minister also commended the contributions of alumni and religious institutions in supporting educational development.
He added, “What I’ve also particularly noticed is the role of old boys, old students, in supporting the state. I recognise a strong bond, a relationship between the church and the state, in providing quality education. And for our purposes today, the Presbyterian Church, I want to salute them and pay tribute to them.”
“From Odumase now to Accra, Presec have trained many young people, mentioning Okudzeto Ablakwa, Oko Boye, they are all proud students of this school,” he said.
“My assessment here is that classrooms are not adequate, dormitories are not adequate, laboratories are insufficient and not in good shape,” he said.
Additionally, Haruna Iddrisu had revealed plans by the government to reclassify some SHSs to ease pressure on category A schools.
He revealed that the proposal will see 10 Category A schools downgraded to Category B and another 10 Category B schools upgraded to Category A.
Speaking at a press briefing at the Ministry on Tuesday, October 14, Haruna Iddrisu explained, “We have close to 393,000 students competing for only 76,000 spaces. The pressure on Category A schools is too high, and this makes placement less fair and transparent”.
The Education Minister added that reclassification will help distribute students more evenly and make the placement system more efficient.
He cited regional inequalities in the distribution of top-tier schools.
“Regions like North East, Savannah, Oti, and Western North have no Category A schools. We intend to deliberately prioritise these areas with infrastructure investments to improve access to quality education,” he explained.
Meanwhile, about 590,000 freshers are reporting to their placed Senior High School (SHS) to begin the 2025/2026 academic year.
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