Brainstorming on CSSPS ends
The Minister of Education, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has called for transparency in finding ways to make the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) more effective and efficient.
Advertisement
She has, therefore, called for suggestions and submissions from the public to improve on the system.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang, who addressed the closing session of a day’s brainstorming meeting to find ways of improving the system, said the current situation put pressure on some few schools, as many parents sought admission there for their children.
The meeting brought together representatives from public and private senior high schools (SHSs), educationists and parent-teacher associations, among others, to have frank discussions on the prospects, challenges and the way forward.
It was also attended by the two deputy ministers of education, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and Mr Alex Kyeremeh.
Complaints
While heads of schools complained that the CSSPS often posted too many students to their schools, officials of the CSSPS also blamed the heads of schools for under-declaring the number of vacancies they had.
During the discussions, it was established that in the previous placement exercises, some heads declared vacancies far below the real numbers they admitted at the end of the academic year.
That, the stakeholders believed, was undermining the credibility of the system.
Other Trending Stories
It came out that the number of vacancies declared and the number of students presented for funds by some heads of second-cycle schools also varied.
While the number declared by the heads for placement was smaller, the number submitted for funding was way above the number for placement.
Endowed schools
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang noted that almost every parent wanted to send his/her child to 23 schools in the country described as endowed, which was impossible.
She said it was possible to make other schools equally endowed and attractive to parents and students, depending on the leadership of those schools.
Setting up of schools
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said it was inappropriate for a school to be set up and operate without the knowledge of the ministry.
She pointed out that it was wrong to set up a school without environmental, health and legal clearance and without the consent of the assembly, and urged all to play a role in ensuring that the right things were done.
The Chairman of the GES Council, Prof. Akwasi Asabre Ameyaw, who chaired the meeting, expressed concern over the issue of protocol in school placement and the 30 per cent offer of admission to candidates in the area of schools and said those issues must be re-examined.