The Headmaster of Mansoman Senior High School (SHS), Rev. Nicholas Adu Berko, has raised concerns over the growing number of students changing their school placements, saying his institution has enough facilities to accommodate hundreds of students but is struggling to attract them.

According to him, the school initially had more than 600 students placed on its Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) portal.

However, he said the number has started dropping as some students and their parents seek to change their placements to what they consider more preferred schools.

Speaking to the media at a resolution centre in Kumasi, the headmaster said the trend could leave some schools with significant vacancies despite having the facilities and teachers needed to accommodate students.

“When the placement came, I had almost about 600-plus students on my portal. But between yesterday and today, I have seen that the rate at which we are expecting students to come to the school to give them admissions is not going as it should,” he said.

He said he had received information that several students were visiting the resolution centre to change their school placements.

“I have gotten information that most of them are here to change their schools to other schools,” he said.

The headmaster said he could see evidence of the changes on his school’s placement portal.

“When you see my portal, a student had an aggregate 10, and his name is no longer on the portal, meaning the student has changed his or her school,” he explained.

The headmaster said Mansoman SHS had the capacity to accommodate significantly more students than it was currently attracting.

He said the school had classrooms, dormitory spaces, beds, and other facilities that could accommodate between 800 and 900 students.

“I have a lot of space that can take close to about 800 to 900 students in my school. I have seats, dormitory spaces, beds; I have almost everything that can accommodate students,” he said.

He expressed concern that parents were still reluctant to send their children to the school, despite its available facilities.

According to him, some parents have cited poor road conditions as one of the reasons for seeking placements elsewhere.

“But they don’t want my school because they will give reasons that the roads are not good, and they’re now fixing it,” he said.

He said that if the country was committed to providing equal educational opportunities, a child's access to quality education should not depend on whether the school was located in Kumasi or another part of the country.

“When we say we’re giving everybody equal opportunities, wherever you are, you should be able to learn,” he said.

The headmaster also challenged the perception that schools outside the major urban centres do not have teachers capable of providing quality education.

He said teachers at Mansoman SHS have the same academic and professional capabilities as teachers working in some of the country's highly sought-after schools.

“Because the teachers who are in Kumasi, their classmates are the ones in my school."

“I don’t know why parents are still struggling to go to the same Grade A schools while the B and C are neglected,” he added.

The headmaster insisted that Mansoman SHS had teachers who were equally capable of teaching students as those in well-known schools such as Prempeh College.

“Mansoman SHS has teachers who are equally good as those in Prempeh College to teach them. Because we are classmates,” he said.

The headmaster said attending a highly regarded school did not automatically make someone more intelligent or capable than a student from another institution.

“I attended Opoku Ware School. I am the headmaster of Mansoman SHS. It doesn’t mean that someone in Mansoman is not intelligent, no,” he said.

He therefore called for an end to the practice of ranking or categorising senior high schools in a way that influences parents to favour some schools over others.

“I am waiting for a day that we’ll not grade these schools again."

“Secondly, I am waiting for a day where, when you allow a child or a parent to choose a school for the child, this centres will not be needed,” he said.