Education Minister orders CSSPS review
The Ministry of Education has announced plans to constitute a technical team in the coming days to undertake a comprehensive review of the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS).
The effort, the ministry says, is to ensure greater transparency, efficiency and fairness in the placement of students into second cycle institutions across the country.
The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, made the announcement during a surprise working visit to the Presbyterian Boys Senior High School (PRESEC) in Accra yesterday.
The comment comes in the wake of the annual ritual of complaints over placements into senior high schools (SHS).
This year, for instance, resolution centres were established in the regions to cater for complaints from parents, guardians and students.
Management
Mr Iddrisu interacted with students, teachers and management of PRESEC during the visit to gain firsthand insight into the conditions of teaching and learning, infrastructure, and general preparedness for the academic term.
He commended the staff for their dedication to duty, and reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to improving educational infrastructure, teaching resources and administrative systems to enhance equitable access to quality education.
The minister emphasised that the forthcoming review of the CSSPS would engage key stakeholders, including education managers and representatives of parents and students, to ensure that the placement system continued to serve the best interest of all Ghanaian learners.
First-year SHS students began reporting to school last weekend to commence the 2025-2026 academic year.
This follows their placement into the various SHSs and technical institutes under the Computerised School Selection and Placement System.
At the commencement of the exercise on September 17, 2025, 483,800 candidates were placed into SHSs and technical institutions.
By the end of September, up to 52,492 candidates had done self-placement into second cycle schools under the CSSPS, bringing the number of candidates placed in SHSs and counterpart institutions to 536,292.
Some 590,309 qualified candidates, out of the 603,328 students who sat the 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), qualified for placement into second cycle institutions.
As of September 24, 2025, the resolution centres had received 9,000 complaints, with the Greater Accra centre recording the highest number of 4,000 complaints, with the rest spread across the other regions.
The complaints, according to officials, had largely to do with the change of school, with about 76 per cent of candidates requesting a change from categories 'B' and 'C' to Category 'A' schools.
"The difficulty is that there are limited spaces in Category 'A' schools, which have been filled up. Again, a candidate placed in a particular school cannot be changed except under circumstances of health grounds or relocation," the Head of Public Relations of the GES, Daniel Fenyi, told the Daily Graphic.
Laudation
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has extended its warmest congratulations and best wishes to the about 590,000 first-year SHS students who have started reporting to their various schools since last Saturday.
It said in a statement that the current stage marked a significant milestone in the academic journey of the students and a new chapter in their educational pursuit.
“The ministry warmly welcomes all newly admitted students to the secondary education system, and urges them to approach this next phase of their learning with dedication, discipline and enthusiasm.
“The ministry also commends parents and guardians for their patience and cooperation throughout the school placement process,” the statement said.
