Frustrated parents and candidates seeking solutions to challenges with the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) in the Greater Accra Region are calling for additional placement resolution centres to ease congestion at the GNAT Hall in Accra.

Tensions are mounting at the National Placement Resolution Centre at the GNAT Hall, where large numbers of parents and students have gathered to resolve issues relating to their senior high school placements.

The situation comes amid concerns over the number of candidates who have so far been unable to secure placements in senior high schools.

Some parents who spoke to JoyNews correspondent Sheila Sakyi said they had been forced to endure long queues, hours of waiting and repeated visits to the centre without receiving satisfactory answers to their concerns.

One parent said he arrived at the centre with his ward as early as 4 a.m. but had received little information on how the large number of people would be attended to.

“I was here with my ward at 4 a.m., and when we came, as at now, there is no signal to show that today we'll be able to resolve our issues. No communication, nothing,” he said.

‘One centre for Greater Accra is not acceptable’

The parent questioned why the entire Greater Accra Region should rely on a single centre to resolve placement-related challenges.

He estimated that about 2,000 people had gathered at the centre, putting significant pressure on the limited number of officials available to attend to them.

“The whole of Greater Accra Region, we have only one centre to resolve all these kinds of challenges. It is very, very appalling,” he said.

He appealed to the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ministry of Education to establish additional centres across the region.

“Why can't we make them get about four or five centres to resolve these challenges? One centre for a Greater Accra Region is not acceptable,” he stressed.

Another parent said the situation was taking a toll on families, particularly those who have to leave their workplaces repeatedly to deal with placement issues.

He said some parents arrive early in the morning, spend several hours waiting and are sometimes asked to return the following day.

“A person could come here from 4 o'clock and stay here to 2 o'clock, and they'll go there again... Tomorrow you come back, you come back and you have to start again. It's too much,” he said.

He added that parents had to work to earn money to support their children’s education, making repeated trips to the centre particularly difficult.

“Then when you come back, there is nobody to even address you, nobody to talk to you on what you are going to do,” he complained.

Parents complain about lack of communication

Beyond the long queues, the parents also expressed concern about what they described as inadequate communication and direction at the centre.

Some said they had been instructed to obtain numbers and join queues but remained unclear about how and when their individual cases would be handled.

One parent questioned how a limited number of officials could effectively attend to the thousands of people seeking assistance.

He also complained that information was sometimes communicated to large groups without adequate arrangements to ensure everyone could hear or seek clarification.

Concerns over unexpected school placements

For some parents, the frustrations extend beyond the congestion and long waiting times.

They are also seeking explanations over placements that they say changed after they had initially checked their wards’ results.

One parent alleged that his ward’s placement had been changed to a private day school, leaving the family uncertain about where the student was ultimately expected to attend.

A retired professor who was also at the centre said his son, who sat the BECE in the Ashanti Region, had been placed in a school in Greater Accra despite selecting schools in the Ashanti Region.

He said the placement posed difficulties for the family because the student needed to live with his parents.

Calls for more centres

The affected parents are calling for more placement resolution centres to be established across Greater Accra to reduce congestion and shorten waiting times.

They are also demanding improved communication and the deployment of more personnel to handle the volume of cases.

For the parents gathered at the GNAT Hall, the immediate concern is not only securing appropriate placements for their wards but also gaining timely access to officials who can explain and resolve their individual challenges.