This is how parents and guardians can be involved in 2024 free SHS selection process

The 2024 school selection process for Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates has commenced in Accra.

The exercise, which started on August 28, will end on September 4, 2024.

In a statement signed by the acting Director of the Schools and Instruction Division of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Prince Agyemang-Duah, the service urged parents and guardians to be actively involved in the exercise to ensure a smooth placement process this year.

The statement also said that candidates would have the opportunity to confirm their school choices by texting a shortcode before the final placement is conducted. 
Details containing the shortcode will be provided in due course.

The announcement follows the completion of the 2024 BECE, involving 570,461 candidates between July 8 and 15 2024, across the country.

Selection

The school selection process allows candidates to choose senior high schools or technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions of their choice for placement.

In line with that, Regional Directors of Education have been instructed to inform stakeholders, including Metropolitan, Municipal and District Directors of Education, as well as examination officers, about the dates of the selection process to ensure it was carried out smoothly.

GES has also indicated that officers from its headquarters would oversee the selection exercise nationwide to ensure adherence to established guidelines and procedures to guarantee a transparent placement process.

A unique feature of this year’s school selection is that candidates have the chance to select STEM subjects such as biomedical science, engineering science, aviation and aerospace engineering, computing and robotics, agriculture, science, as well as manufacturing engineering.

The statement contained two phone lines for the resolution of challenges parents, students and other stakeholders might encounter in the process.  

Background

The Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) started in 2005 and has been subjected to a series of reviews based on the concerns of parents, stakeholders and the general public.

As part of the measures to ensure a smooth placement of qualified BECE candidates, the GES usually puts measures in place to forestall challenges that might emanate from the exercise.

The CSSPS has a set of guidelines for selecting and placing qualified candidates, including the use of raw scores of candidates and placing candidates using their performance in six subjects.

It uses the total raw scores of six subjects (and not grades) of candidates for the selection process. The six subjects which are picked during the selection process are English Language, Mathematics, Integrated Science, Social Studies plus two other best subjects.

Before the CSSPS, the selection and placement of students in second cycle schools was done manually. The process was laborious and occasioned by  misplacement of candidates’ cards, among other things.

It was also susceptible to manipulation by heads of institutions, thereby creating an unfair system, especially against the poor.