CSSPS Under Fire As Placement Centres Overwhelm Parents
The Senior High School placement exercise has descended into turmoil as anxious parents and prospective students besiege resolution centres nationwide, exposing critical gaps in the Computerised School Selection and Placement System. What was envisioned as a seamless transition for successful candidates has morphed into a spectacle of frustration, long queues and unanswered queries, casting doubt on the system’s capacity to manage public expectation.
According to JoyNews, the AM Show hosts Emefa Akosua Adeti and Razak Musbau captured the distressing scenes live, with footage showing overcrowded centres where officials struggle to attend to desperate families. The placement portal, while effective in assigning schools to the majority of candidates, has left a substantial cohort stranded due to errors, unplaced status and mismatched choices, prompting urgent calls for administrative intervention and clearer communication protocols.
Parents interviewed at various centres lamented the lack of timely assistance, noting that repeated visits yield little resolution. Education analysts argue that the recurring bottleneck reflects a structural deficiency in decentralised support, where resolution centres remain under-resourced despite annual surges. The emotional toll is palpable, with guardians fearing that academic progression hangs precariously in the balance amid uncertainty and bureaucratic delays.
The CSSPS, introduced to ensure merit-based and transparent placement, has over the years been praised for reducing human interference. Yet its efficiency is continually tested by volume, infrastructural constraints and late release of guidelines. Stakeholders emphasise that without robust grievance mechanisms and enhanced digital literacy outreach, the exercise risks eroding public confidence in secondary education reforms.
Calls are mounting for the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service to expand staffing at resolution centres, extend operational hours and deploy mobile support teams to ease congestion. Until decisive action is taken, the placement period will remain a season of anxiety rather than celebration for thousands of families awaiting clarity on their wards’ academic future.
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Author: Korkor Anumu
