The Ministry of Education (MoE) has acknowledged that the annual Senior High School (SHS) placement exercise remains a challenging period due to infrastructure constraints within the country’s education system.

The Press Secretary and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, Hashmin Mohammed, said the introduction of the Free SHS policy has significantly increased enrollment and expanded access to education, but infrastructure development has not matched the growing demand.

Speaking on Super Morning Show on August 4, Mr Mohammed explained that while Free SHS has been a major success, the inability to provide adequate infrastructure alongside the policy has affected efforts to make schools more attractive and improve quality outcomes.

“Free High School is a very good policy, but we have not been able to match it with the needed infrastructure to make it as attractive as we want it to be,” the spokesperson said.

According to the Ministry, addressing infrastructure gaps remains a priority, leading to the introduction of the STaR-J Project, which is expected to tackle deficits associated with the implementation of Senior High School reforms.

Mr Mohammed noted that some Category A schools, including highly sought-after institutions such as Presbyterian Boys' Senior High School, Prempeh College, and KNUST Senior High School, continue to face pressure due to limited infrastructure capacity and high demand from prospective students.

“The challenge at those schools is that they do not have adequate infrastructure to take all the students who want to attend,” the spokesperson stated.

The Ministry said it plans to expand infrastructure in selected Category A schools with high demand, as well as some Category B and Category C schools, to improve access and reduce pressure on existing facilities.

Mr Mohammed, however, cautioned that the challenges would not be resolved immediately, given the time required for construction and upgrading works.

“It is the expectation of the Ministry that within two academic years, we should be able to have those infrastructures ready because we are going to upgrade some of the schools,” the spokesperson said.

The Ministry is also expected to rely on the findings of ongoing assessments and procurement processes to guide infrastructure expansion, with some projects projected to be completed within about 18 months after approval and implementation.

On the current placement exercise, the spokesperson admitted that accommodating all qualified students would remain difficult due to the increased number of eligible candidates compared to previous years.

“This year, even the number of students who have qualified and we want to place in schools, if you compare it to last year, the number is very huge,” the spokesperson said.

Despite the constraints, the Ministry assured parents and students that efforts would be made to ensure that every qualified student receives placement in a Senior High School.