Education Research and Policy Analyst, Divine Kpe, has called on the Ministry of Education to urgently review and improve the algorithm underpinning the Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) to end the recurring challenges associated with the placement exercise.

According to him, the enormous queues and complaints being recorded across the country, including Accra and Kumasi, point to persistent weaknesses in the system that must be addressed.

Speaking on JoyNews The Pulse , Mr Kpe said many of the complaints reported by students and parents go beyond failure to secure preferred schools.

He explained that some students are being assigned schools they did not select, while others are given residential statuses that differ from their choices or are placed in schools located far from their communities.

“The starting point would be to improve the system efficiency in placing the learners accurately,” he said.

Mr Kpe believes fixing these issues could significantly reduce the number of students who are forced to visit placement centres each year to resolve problems with their placements.

The analyst questioned why similar problems continue to recur despite the fact that Ghana has operated the computerized placement system for several years.

He said the Ministry of Education must conduct a comprehensive audit of the system to identify the root causes of the recurring errors.

“I think we have to do system diagnosis, and that largely falls on the Ministry itself to be able to undertake audit of the system,” he stated.

Mr Kpe argued that the problem should not be treated as an issue beyond resolution, insisting that a proper audit could reveal the weaknesses in the system and provide a basis for correcting them.

He noted that while the percentage of students who are automatically placed has improved over the years, automatic placement does not necessarily mean accurate placement.

“It is one thing to automatically place the learner, and another to ensure that you place that learner at the correct school,” he said.

High demand for Category A schools

Mr Kpe also identified the high demand for Category A schools as another factor contributing to pressure on the placement system.

He acknowledged that there would always be intense competition for highly sought-after schools, but said policymakers should find ways to reduce the concentration of demand on a limited number of institutions.

He cited a situation in which the available capacity was about 76,000 places, while more than 300,000 learners selected Category A schools.

He said the Ministry should use data from this year's exercise to establish whether all those students genuinely qualified for the schools they selected.

According to him, the introduction of the policy allowing students to know their results before selecting schools provides an opportunity to assess whether the system is being abused.

“If it is about system misuse, they have not qualified, I think the system can be improved, where you enter your grade, and the system should be able to restrict you not to proceed if your grade has not matched up to the criteria of that particular school,” he explained.

Mr Kpe said the Ministry must determine whether the high number of Category A selections reflects genuine qualification and demand or whether some students are selecting schools despite not meeting the required criteria.

He believes the findings should inform further reforms to the CSSPS to make the placement process more accurate, efficient and less stressful for students and parents.

While he does not expect the placement exercise to become completely free of challenges, Mr Kpe said improving the system's accuracy would substantially reduce the scale of the annual crisis.