Cape Coast SHSs enjoy peace over minimal school placement challenges

Senior High Schools (SHS) in the Central Region are seeing minimal drama over the Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) as many parents are happy with the placement exercise.

Schools, over the years, have been inundated with complaints and queries from parents and guardians, mostly agitated, over one issue or the other concerning the admission of their wards to schools.

Such complaints usually include no placement, wrong placement, change of school and programme, day and boarding status of students and errors on students’ gender.

But various SHSs this year have relatively been at peace since the admission list was released by the Ministry of Education on Saturday, March 26, 2022.

In all, 367, 811 candidates out of the 555,353 who qualified for the placement were automatically placed into schools and training institutions of their choice while the remaining 187, 542 qualified candidates were directed to do self-placement to available schools, according to the Ministry.

The students are expected to report to their respective schools on Monday, April 4, 2022, barring any unforeseen changes.

A visit to some selected schools by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) saw orderly and calm atmospheres with a few parents and students trickling in to find out about one thing or the other.

Most of them had shown up to take prospectus but they were directed to get it online.

At the Mfantsipim School, Madam Nora Amakpor, who had come from Tema with his son, said they were happy about the process because it had been smooth for them.

“We came here for prospectus but now they say everything is online so we are going to print it out,” she said.

Madam Agnes Akron from Ankaful in the Central Region also said, “we were not sure of his status and so we came here to confirm. We have been told that he will be in the boarding house and it’s a relief.”

An official of the school, who did not wish to be identified, said the school had recorded a few complaints but the people were directed to the Cape Coast Metro Education Directorate.

He touted the school’s readiness to receive the new students on Monday, saying, “we have not encountered any challenge here. Once you are placed here, there is no cause for alarm.”

At the Adisadel College, Madam Alberta Arthur told the GNA that she had come from Kumasi to physically confirm the admission of her ward but was directed to access that online.

“We were told to download the prospectus online and come to school on Monday. I would not have come all the way from Kumasi if I knew everything was online,” she added.

“It is his first choice and we are happy about it because the process has been smooth ”, Madam Gifty Addai from Kasoa said.

Authorities of the school failed to comment when GNA inquired about the process.

The situation at Holy Child was no different as the administration block was calm and officials said the peaceful environment showed there were no challenges.

Meanwhile, the Regional Free SHS Secretariat said it had recorded about 200 complaints, mostly ‘change of school’, since Monday, March 28, but hopes to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

Katakyie Kwame Opoku Agyemang, the Regional Coordinator, indicated that all the issues had been forwarded to the National Headquarters in Accra for timely resolution.

Speaking in an interview with the GNA on Thursday, he allayed the fears of parents and students and assured them that the Secretariat was open and would address all related challenges.

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