Former Deputy Director‑General of the Ghana Education Service, Dr Kwabena Bempah Tandoh, slammed the decision to let students choose two Category A schools in the 2026 Senior High School (SHS) placement exercise. He said the policy has inflated demand for the already scarce slots at the most sought‑after institutions and has complicated the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS).
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, September 12, Dr Tandoh, who also serves as spokesperson for the NPP Policy Committee on Education, explained that the earlier arrangement allowed only one Category A choice per student. By permitting a second choice, the number of applications competing for the same limited places rose sharply. “If four of us were choosing a Category A school, each student previously represented one demand on the school. With two Category A choices, the same number of students could generate significantly more demand across the limited places available,” he said.
He highlighted the mismatch between demand and capacity, noting that roughly 313,000 students selected Category A schools while only about 76,417 places were available. Using Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School (Presec) as an example, he illustrated how a school with 1,300 overall places might offer only 200 for a programme such as Science, meaning only the top 200 candidates by merit could be admitted.
Dr Tandoh also questioned the Ministry’s communication that students with aggregates between six and ten could access Category A schools, arguing that such messaging could create unrealistic expectations. With only 76,000 Category A places, he warned that many candidates in that aggregate range would likely be disappointed.
He stressed that the broader placement challenge is not a lack of overall SHS capacity—Ghana has about 859,828 places for 623,000 candidates—but a mismatch between where students want to go and where places exist. He cited 1,132 infrastructure projects undertaken from 2019 to 2025 to expand SHS capacity, yet the demand still outstrips supply at the most popular schools.
Dr Tandoh linked the Category A issue to other 2026 reforms, including changes to eligibility rules that initially disqualified 54,985 candidates. He said the combination of altered eligibility, selection procedures and the new Category A choices created additional pressure and uncertainty.
He urged future reforms to align student choices, school capacity and admission criteria, noting that the core principles of choice, merit and capacity remain vital even as the system becomes more automated.
