Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu: “No Student With Aggregate 37 Belongs in a Category A School”

The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has declared that no student with a Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) aggregate of 37 will be admitted into a Category A senior high school. He explained that the ongoing Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) must remain transparent and strictly based on merit, warning that any attempts to manipulate the system in favour of undeserving candidates will not be tolerated.

Speaking in Accra, the Minister assured the public that neither he nor officials of the Ghana Education Service had direct access to alter placements. According to him, the system has been insulated from interference to ensure fairness. “Let me assure you that placement of persons who pass the BECE exams is ongoing. The Director General sitting here has no access, I have no access, the Deputy Minister has no access. No Deputy Director General has access in order to guarantee the meritorious application of it. But sometimes there are other persons who may want to abuse it, and we will deal with them as and when we find culprits. For instance, I would not accept a student with an aggregate of 37 going into a Category A school. What would be your justification for that if you hear that a student with an aggregate of 35 or 37 is placed in a Category A school? Does he belong there meritoriously? That is questionable,” he stated.

His strong stance comes at a time when hundreds of parents and students have thronged the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) Hall in Accra, seeking redress over school placements. Frustrations boiled over as parents complained about misplaced postings, long queues, and limited options to change schools. One father expressed his disappointment, saying his son had been placed at St. Fidelis SHS, a school he had never heard of, instead of a day school closer to home. He lamented that with the slow pace of the process, it was unlikely that his concerns would be addressed within the timeline given.

The Minister admitted that infrastructure deficits remain one of the biggest obstacles to effective placement. He explained that even the most prestigious schools are stretched beyond capacity. “If Achimota got two additional dormitory blocks and two additional state-of-the-art classrooms, it would double its intake, just as Wesley Girls, Yaa Asantewaa, Temasco, Adisadel or any other school. But the question is, have we invested in them? We have not; so, don’t expect that all of a sudden, we’ll be able to place people adequately,” he said. To address the shortfall, he disclosed that for the first time, placement has been expanded to private senior high schools to absorb the growing numbers under the Free SHS policy.

In a related development, the Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare, has urged parents to manage their expectations. He explained that although there are enough SHS spaces to accommodate all 590,000 BECE candidates this year, the preference for only popular schools is fuelling unnecessary anxiety. He stressed that choosing a school does not guarantee admission, as placement depends not only on preference but also on academic performance. “You may wish to go to Labone SHS to do science, but you must also know that the school is a competitive Category B school. Your choice must align with your grades. These two things determine the extent of competition,” he said.

Mr. Asare encouraged parents to embrace schools across all categories, insisting that equitable access to education can only be achieved if pressure is reduced on a handful of elite institutions.

The placement exercise continues to spark debate across the country, reflecting both the successes and the challenges of Ghana’s Free SHS policy. While the government insists that meritocracy will not be compromised, parents continue to press for transparency and efficiency in the system. For now, Haruna Iddrisu has drawn a clear line, insisting that Category A schools must remain reserved for students who earn their places through academic excellence rather than through influence or manipulation.