Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has acknowledged the significant challenges facing this year’s Senior High School (SHS) placement process, citing a sharp imbalance between available vacancies and the number of qualified applicants.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, Mr. Iddrisu disclosed that while there are only 76,000 available SHS slots, the Ministry has received applications from approximately 393,000 qualified students, a situation he described as “a near impossibility” to resolve without infrastructural expansion.
“We do accept that there is a challenge. When you have vacancies of 76,000 and applicants desiring to fill 76,000 with 393,000, you definitely will have some difficulty and struggle, as I am struggling,” he admitted. “It could be any of you seated here as Minister for Education. How can you fill 76,000 vacancies with 393,000 qualified applicants? That’s a near impossibility.”
The Minister explained that the Ministry is working to manage the placement process fairly across all categories of schools; Category A, B, and C, while acknowledging that many parents understandably prefer Category A institutions for their children.
“Justifiably, every parent wants their child to be in a Category A school,” he said. “But we haven’t, in the last month, expanded any infrastructure at any Category A school to have done the magic for us.”
Mr. Iddrisu assured the public that the Ministry is exploring short- and long-term measures to address the infrastructural and logistical gaps that continue to affect SHS placements nationwide.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh/Barbara Yeboah
