Despite the official reopening of senior high schools on October 18, hundreds of first-year students have not reported to school due to placement and administrative challenges.
In the Ashanti Region, officials say the regional resolution centre continues to receive large numbers of parents and students seeking assistance to resolve placement issues, days before and after schools reopened.
Deputy Regional Free SHS Coordinator, Mark Owusu Baafi, revealed that the regional resolution centre has been overwhelmed by the volume of cases.
“Since we started, we have attended to not less than 400 people a day. Last week alone, we attended to almost 6,000 people. The numbers are reducing now. We try our best to address their issues. If they are not solved, they should come back. We will be here till the end of the semester,” he told JoyNews.
Mr. Baafi said three main categories of cases have dominated complaints this year, including status changes, gender corrections, and re-entries.
“Some parents are changing the status of their wards from day to boarding. Others are coming because of sex changes due to mistakes during registration. Then there are those re-entering after dropping out a year or two ago. A few also don’t like the schools their wards have gotten, so they come for help,” he explained.
JoyNews checks at the regional centre revealed a significant problem with students being placed in schools parents say they did not choose.
Some teachers and GES officials, speaking off the record, said delays and last-minute adjustments to school selection criteria created confusion and rushed entries.
Mr. Baafi, however, insisted the placement process follows a clear structure and that each student is placed within the options they selected.
“On their placement forms, they have a list of seven schools. Parents fill them out, and someone does the entry. If anyone tells you they didn’t get any of the schools they chose, check their placement forms. The system gives you one out of the seven schools you selected,” he said.
He added that parents were provided with categories and a format to select schools ahead of time. Four boarding and three day schools, and were given opportunities to view and correct their entries before final submission.
“We gave them categories for each school and the format to choose ahead of time. It was four boarding and three day schools. The parents and schools made the choices, not the Free SHS. We even gave them a chance to verify what they entered, and some didn’t,” Mr. Baafi said.
Allegations have also surfaced that some parents are paying bribes to have placements changed.
Speaking on Luv in the Morning on Luv FM, Henry Osei Boateng, Ashanti Regional Public Relations Officer for the Ghana Education Service (GES), said the service is investigating the claims.
“We are investigating the issue to find out if it is authentic. At the resolution centre, nobody pays money. We don’t take any money there, so we don’t know who the parents are paying to,” Mr. Osei Boateng said.
He indicated that any official found complicit in such activities would face disciplinary action.
Officials at the resolution centre said they will continue operating through the term to resolve outstanding placement and registration issues.
Education authorities acknowledge the potential for disruption to orientation and early academic activities but maintain that they are working to settle affected students as quickly as possible.
For now, the regional GES and the Free SHS Secretariat say they will keep assisting parents and students at the resolution centre, while following up with the Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) and the schools involved to ensure cases are rectified.
Source: Emmanuella Ewurabena Acquaye
