The Ghana Education Service (GES) says a total of 52,492 candidates have successfully completed self-placement into senior high and technical schools under the 2025 Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS).

This brings the total number of students placed so far to 534,672, out of the 603,328 who sat for this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

When the placement exercise began on September 17, 2025, 483,800 candidates were automatically placed into various senior high, senior high technical, and technical/vocational institutions. To support those who faced challenges, the GES set up regional resolution centres nationwide.

As of last Friday, these centres had received about 9,000 complaints, with Greater Accra recording the highest number — over 4,000 cases.

Most of the complaints, officials say, are requests from students seeking to change schools, particularly moving from Category B and C institutions to the more competitive Category A schools, which are already full.

“There are limited spaces in Category A schools. Once a candidate has been placed, the school can only be changed under special circumstances such as health or relocation,”
explained Daniel Fenyi, Head of Public Relations at the GES.

He added that many students also requested to switch from day to boarding status, but this is only allowed if the placement distance makes commuting impractical or if there are valid health or relocation reasons.

Another common issue, according to Mr. Fenyi, involves students who did not receive any placement, which is being resolved through self-placement and placement into private schools.

This year, the Free SHS Programme has expanded to include 70 private schools, offering more options for students alongside 724 public SHSs/SHTSs and 233 technical and vocational institutions.

The GES has also confirmed that re-entry candidates — students who completed basic school in 2022, 2023, and 2024 but did not take up their placements — will also be placed this year.

Mr. Fenyi urged parents to remain patient and avoid paying bribes to influence placements, warning that any such attempts should be reported.

“We are committed to resolving all issues to ensure our students have a smooth transition to second-cycle schools,” he assured.

All successfully placed students are expected to report to school on October 18, 2025.

Meanwhile, many parents continue to visit the resolution centres to address last-minute concerns. One such parent, Stephen Badu, told the Daily Graphic that he was seeking to move his niece to a school in Accra after she mistakenly did her own self-placement into a school in the Eastern Region.

“Her friend told her to select that school, so she did — without asking us,” he said. “We’re just here to get it fixed.”

The 2025 BECE saw 603,328 candidates — made up of 297,250 boys and 306,078 girls — sitting the exams across 2,237 centres nationwide.

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) released the results in August, with a few withheld or cancelled over examination malpractice cases.

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