Addressing persistent CSSPS challenges: Call for policy reforms

The conversation around the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) should be forward-looking and targeted at next year. For over a decade, we have been doing the same things, and the results are clear for all to see.

The question is: what new measures can we implement within a year to ensure that we do not face the same challenges again next year? That should be our focus.

Is it about increasing educational infrastructure and providing resources across all schools, especially underserved ones, within a year? Have we tried this option? Some will say yes — it is already ongoing.

Should we increase CSSPS education and deepen sensitisation activities across the country? Again, the answer is yes — and we must continue.

Is it a software or technical challenge? Have improvements been attempted? Yes, several times — yet the challenges persist.

So, what other options remain unexplored?

Solving problems is a science in itself. It requires proper diagnosis.

Data from resolution centres over the years suggests that most parents who visit these centres want to change their wards’ placements, mainly because the schools assigned are not their preferred choices.

In fact, most parents are satisfied when their wards are placed in one of their first three choices.

To address this, we must ensure that parents select realistic choices for their wards.

This requires a transparent system that informs parents of each school’s requirements and helps them understand their wards’ true academic performance (not assumptions or projections).

The gap between aspiration and reality must be bridged—and this can only be done if school selection happens after results are released.

Measures

Therefore, going into the 2026 CSSPS, the following measures should be prioritised:

1. Allow school selection after the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results are released. Alternatively, even if the current process is maintained, when the window opens for confirmation of student details after results are published, parents should be given the option to modify their choices.

2. Deliberately resource more Category B and C schools with the aim of upgrading them. No parent should be faulted for wanting quality secondary education for their child. It is the responsibility of the authorities to ensure that every secondary school has adequate resources to deliver quality education.

3. Introduce a Secondary School Affiliate System. Link all Category A schools to at least two secondary schools in rural or underserved areas.

A clear policy document should be developed and implemented within the year. Perception plays a role in the current challenges.

If parents know that schools like PRESEC have constant interaction and collaboration with schools in their communities, it can positively shape perceptions and boost confidence in those schools.

These, alongside other interventions already in place, should be pursued within the year.

Only then can we ensure that the long queues at so-called resolution centres become a thing of the past.

If the focus is on finding solutions and not benefitting from the faulty system, then we know what to do.

The writer is the Executive Director,
IFEST_Ghana