Charles Aheto Tsegah, a former Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), has said the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) has failed to deliver on the fundamental challenges that have historically characterised the SHS placement.
The former Director-General of the Ghana Education Service called for placement authority to be given back to headteachers as the CSSPS has failed to deliver.
He recounted that the CSSPS was introduced largely to address concerns surrounding the manual placement system, which included allegations of corruption, favouritism and undue influence.
According to Aheto Tsegah, the computerised system has not delivered on its objectives for which it was established.
The former GES Director-General explained that before the introduction of the CSSPS, there was widespread suspicion surrounding the role of headteachers.
He recalled that headteachers were accused of corruption and other forms of manipulation, which influenced the decision to move away from the traditional system.
Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV on Saturday, September 12, Aheto Tsegah stated, “If you look at what informed the change to the CSSPS system, there was deep suspicion of the efforts of the headteachers. People impugned corruption and so many things and took the power away from the headteachers, and then we were thinking that we were going to use the CSSPS system with all of its algorithms to correct protocol and the whole lot of the side issues that were connected with the placement situation.
“Unfortunately, we have failed. I had the opportunity to call one of the people who led the transition and said we have failed in this whole thing because if we cannot address the key challenge that inspired us to set off to bring in the CSSPS, we have failed and we better go back and give it to the headteachers.”
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.
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