AAnxious parents and guardians of candidates who sat this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) have thronged the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) Resolution Centre with their children and wards, seeking solutions to a myriad of challenges facing them.
Aside from a packed auditorium, there was also a long queue outside the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) conference room where issues ranging from the change of day to boarding and choice of schools are being addressed.
At about 8:30 a.m., parents and their children who had gathered at the entrance of the hall attempted to force their way into the auditorium, leading to the destruction of the glass door.
Order was later restored, and those seeking a solution to their challenges were allowed into the hall to await their turn.
Inside the hall, the police have mounted a barricade to separate the officials from the parents and guardians and ensure orderliness.
However, the heat occasioned by the sheer number was so unbearable that one could hardly feel the full effect of the air-conditioning.
Personnel
The Daily Graphic team that visited the venue observed security personnel calmly ensuring order, with students and their guardians eager to have their challenges resolved.
Almost all the students had in their possession large-sized brown envelopes containing their result slips and other placement documents.
While some of them were seen leaving the hall after going through the process, a large number were seen entering the facility, even after 1 p.m.
The complaints of the parents included placements in day or boarding schools that do not match the preferences of the graduate.
Others said they had also been placed in schools far from home, creating additional financial and transportation challenges for their families; hence, they needed a change.
Most of the people had their issues addressed, but others were asked to go and come the next day.
Observation
The parents and their children who interacted with the Daily Graphic raised various concerns about the placement.
One of the graduates, Mary Owusu, a resident of Kasoa, who was leaving the centre after arriving there with her mother as early as 6 a.m, said she had not been attended to as of around midday.
She said she was placed as a day student at the Danfa Technical Institute, and that commuting to and from the school every day would be too expensive for her parents, hence the need for an alternative.
Lukaya Sulley, a guardian, said her ward preferred a day school because of the distance and financial burden.
“I came here purposely to change the school because my son is complaining about the boarding school he was placed in.
“He was placed in Odorgonno SHS, but he prefers to attend a day school, and that’s why we are here,” she said.
Sharing a similar experience, Joyce Akwetey said her sister had been placed in a boarding school in the Eastern Region, although they lived in Wassa Amenfi East in the Western Region.
She said the family preferred a day school closer to home because of the distance.
She said she was attended to after she was given the option to select some schools.
For Mansa Boahen, an employee mother in Accra, the situation was even more challenging.
Her 13-year-old child was placed in a school at Bodwoa in the Western Region, a journey that could take more than two days to complete.
“If there is an emergency, how do I reach my child? I am not self-employed; I cannot be taking excuses to travel back and forth,” she said.
Coach Ashiley said he was asked to go and come the next day.
He wanted a change from Adventist SHS in Kumasi, where his ward was placed.
Day, boarding status concerns
For many of the parents, their main concern is around the day or boarding status given to their children.
One such parent, Akosua Asantewaa, who is based in Accra, said her child was placed in a school in Koforidua as a day student.
She said she had no relatives or anyone she could rely on in the area, making the day placement difficult to manage.
“I have no family or connections there,” she said, adding that she had been in the queue since 6 a.m. to change the placement to boarding.
Another parent, who gave her name only as Clementine, said she arrived at the resolution centre at 4 a.m. after her child, who lives in Accra, was placed in a day school in Nkawkaw in the Eastern Region.
For other parents, however, the problem is the programme offered to their children.
Martha Lortsu said although her child was happy with the assigned school, the school did not offer the course he wanted to study.
Agnes Akweley expressed dissatisfaction with the placement process.
She described the process as slow and frustrating, recounting that she was at the centre very early in the morning.
“They gave us a tag earlier, but now we have been told to form queues which are very long, and it’s so frustrating,” Ms Akweley lamented.
Background
A total of 604,567 candidates qualified for placement into senior high schools, senior high technical schools, and technical and vocational institutions across the country.
Of this number, 527,932, approximately 87.3 per cent of qualified candidates, have been successfully placed.
Self-placement
The government has also given a lifeline to 53, 887 to BECE graduates who scored grade nine in English Language, Mathematics or both to do self-placement.
The self-placement portal has been activated and provides an important pathway for candidates who could not be automatically matched with their original choices, as well as for candidates with a score of 9 in English Language and/or Mathematics who are allowed to select available schools.
This year, the CSSPS has been upgraded to include an admission portal so that parents and guardians can enrol and download their admission forms without travelling to the schools.
This eases the burden on parents, guardians, and students who must spend more on transportation to schools for admission and enrolment.
At the press briefing last Monday, the Coordinator of the CSSPS, Sherif Sulemana, said that as of Sunday night, the secretariat had populated the heads of school portal with the details of the placed graduates.
He said some of the heads were expected to start admissions this week.
First-year SHS students are to report for school on Friday, September 18, this year.
