Some parents were on Wednesday stranded at Archbishop Porter Girls Senior High School in Takoradi after they had been informed that there was no space to admit their wards into the Home Economics and General Arts Departments although they had paid for their admission fees. Even though the names of the about 50 students who were placed by the Computer Placement and School Selection System (CPSSS) are on the school’s notice board, their parents were told that admissions were done on first come first serve basis. The Headmistress claims she only had space for 305 students but the Computer Placement and School Selection System posted 389 students to the school. During a visit by Maxx News, parents and guardians who had travelled from across the country were picketing on the school’s compound in frustration and anger. Some told Maxx News they have spent several days in Takoradi sleeping in hotels. They are calling on the Ghana Education Service (GES) to intervene since the students were placed by the computer placement system and may not gain admission anywhere else. “We came here with our placement form to go through the normal process but were met with a caption that placement has been closed and that it is first come first serve. The Headmistress has refused to meet the parents so we want the Government to do something about it immediately because we are frustrated. We need to look for accommodation and I have been wearing this dress since yesterday,” a parent lamented. “I have been in Archbishop Porter Girls for three days in one dress. I spent two nights in Takoradi and this is having a toll on about 49 parents here. According to the Headmistress, she has got the number of children she requested for. She requested for 305 and they gave her 389 so the problem is that she can’t accommodate the new students both in General Arts and Home Economics Departments. “I have been sleeping in hotels at extra cost and this is very bad so the Education Service must look at the issue because once the child has been put on placement there is nowhere that we can send this child. And I know this thing is going on in almost all the so-called big schools,” he alleged. A parent who was close to shedding tears said his daughter is devastated over the situation. He wonders why the Headmistress did not alert the managers of the Computer Placement and School Selection System early enough that she could not accommodate high numbers. “My child is not comfortable back at home anytime she calls me. I need her to be admitted here at all cost because there is nowhere I am taking her to. I don’t see why the placement has been done to this school and this woman is refusing to accept the children”. “At the moment, I am with my daughter and she doesn’t want to eat in the last two days. She has been crying and I am tempted to cry when I see her crying,” a parent said. Attempts to speak to the Headmistress proved futile since she was nowhere to be found. Sources in the school hinted Maxx News that the Headmistress is not being truthful with her claim that there is no space. Meanwhile, latest information indicates that the parents have been given assurance that some measures will be put in place in the next few days to absorb their wards. This was after an emergency meeting was held a while ago between the Headmistress and the stranded parents.