SHS boarding facilities to be increased for CSSPS placement – MoE

The central government is moving swiftly to expand the limited availability of boarding facilities in various second-cycle schools to address challenges associated with this year’s computer second-cycle school placement, the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has said.

Speaking to journalists, the Education Minister said discussions are ongoing with the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) to create additional space for boarding students in order to ease the pressure on parents and candidates.

The Education Minister explained that the demand for places in top schools far outweighs available facilities, making it impossible to accommodate every successful candidate in Category A institutions.

“But to all this, it just says that the government needs to invest more to expand infrastructure. If Achimota got two additional dormitory blocks and two additional state-of-the-art classrooms, it will double its intake. But the question is, have we invested in them? We have not. So don’t expect that all of a sudden we’ll be able to place people adequately,” Mr. Iddrisu added.

The Minister for Education disclosed that the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) leadership has been tasked to provide a list of schools where extra facilities could be secured in the short term.

In a related development, the Ministry of Education (MoE) has rejected calls for the abolition of the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) amid challenges in the ongoing second-cycle school placement.

Speaking in an interview monitored by Pretertiary.com, the Media Relations Officer of the Education Ministry, Hashmin Mohammed, stated that the issue had nothing to do with the computer school placement system, but rather with inadequate infrastructure in various second-cycle schools across the country.

“The CSSPS system is evolving, and once it evolves, I would believe that policy makers at the highest authority will be assessing, and if there’s a need for that [cancellation], I think policy makers will look into that. But for now, this is the system we have. And we must all work together to make the system work effectively. I do not see any issue with the system,” the MoE spokesperson said in the interview.

He emphasised the need for greater investment in infrastructure to make all Senior High Schools (SHSs) attractive, thereby reducing the overwhelming pressure on category A and B schools during the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) placement process.

“Maybe going forward, what we can do as a country is to improve infrastructure across the board and make all our schools very competitive. And that is the step this government has taken into consideration by proposing in next year’s budget [2027] to invest heavily in ending the double track system.

When that is done, then we can have a lot of spaces even in Category A and B schools, and it will not affect the quality of education. Any policy should not affect the quality of education, and that is the priority of the government,” he told Sammi Wiafe on Accra-based Citi FM’s Eyewitness News.