Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu says government is moving swiftly to resolve challenges associated with this year’s senior high school placement, particularly the limited availability of boarding facilities.
He revealed that 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.
Addressing the media in Accra after presenting new guidelines for Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs), Mr. Iddrisu gave firm assurances that the placement system is being implemented strictly on merit.
He cautioned that neither he nor officials of the Education Ministry have the authority to tamper with placements, warning against attempts by unscrupulous persons to abuse the process.
“Let me assure you that placement of persons who pass in their BECE exams is ongoing. The director-general sitting here has no access. I have no access. Deputy Minister has no access. No deputy director-general has access. In order to guarantee the meritorious application of it.
But sometimes there are other persons who may want to abuse it and we will deal with them as and when we find culprits. For instance, I would not accept a student with aggregate 37 going into a Category A school. What would be your justification for that?” he stressed.
The 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.
He noted that expanding infrastructure is the most sustainable solution.
“But to all this, it just says that 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.
He disclosed that CHASS leadership has been tasked to provide a list of schools where extra facilities could be secured in the short term.
Government is also in talks to partner private senior high schools to absorb some of the qualified students who may not find placements in public schools.
For the first time, the placement system has been extended to private SHSs to help increase enrollment opportunities.
The minister described this as a bold step toward ensuring that every child who qualifies for senior high school education gets a place.
While admitting the constraints, Mr. Iddrisu expressed satisfaction with progress made so far and assured parents that government remains committed to expanding access, improving transparency, and strengthening meritocracy in school placement.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
