The Coordinator of the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS), Sherif Sulemana, has disclosed that up to 10 per cent of places in Ghana's most sought-after senior high schools are set aside for protocol admissions.

Speaking on JoyFM's Super Morning Show (SMS) on Thursday, September 3, 2026, Mr Sulemana explained how the quota is split, using Aburi Girls' Senior High School, which declared 800 vacancies this year, as an example.

According to him, half of the protocol allocation goes to school heads, largely to accommodate old students seeking places for their wards.

"The alumni with their schools and their head teachers — based on their contribution, the head teacher can give them the concession of having the ward admitted in their school.

"So based on that, they get 5 per cent of the declared vacancy," he said. "So the 5 per cent on the 800, that should give you about 40 or so."

Commenting on the total protocol figure for Category A schools, Mr Sulemana said it was not fixed.

"Maybe you can do an average of 10 per cent, but it varies across," he said, putting the range at "between 5 and 10 per cent."

He explained that the remaining share is distributed among other actors in the education sector, including the Ghana Education Service (GES) and Technical and Vocational Education Institutions (TVET).

"There are other stakeholders in the educational system. So you have a quota for GES. Usually what we do is that based on the request we receive, then we are able to allocate that to them.

"We don't give them a blanket because you may even give them and it may not be up to whatever they receive," he explained, adding that TVET allocations also "come from the pool of the 5 per cent."

Asked whether the ceiling had ever been pushed beyond 10 per cent under pressure, Mr Sulemana said the system was too new for such a case to have arisen.

• Read also: Over 8,000 candidates compete for just 800 places at Aburi Girls’ SHS – CSSPS

"This is our second year. We didn't encounter that last year. So we may not be able to say."

He insisted the quota would not become a loophole for candidates who did not earn their places on grades.

"We are committed to ensuring that people are placed based on merit, and we will not even abuse it to have people who ordinarily... because of certain factors," he said.

"It's a commitment of the Honourable Minister to ensure that people are placed based on merit. So even if it's protocol, it should be within a certain threshold."