NPP Rejects Self-Placement For 54,985 Unplaced BECE Candidates

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has rejected government's decision to allow 54,985 unplaced BECE candidates to do self-placement through the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS), demanding that they be given actual school placements instead.

The opposition party argues that opening the self-placement portal does not guarantee the affected candidates places in schools, as many of their preferred schools and programmes may already be filled by the time they log onto the system.

According to the NPP, parents and candidates should be concerned about securing actual seats in classrooms rather than just being given access to an online portal.

"A portal is not a school place," a statement signed by the Chairman of the NPP Policy Co-ordination Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said.

The party questioned why thousands of candidates remain without placements despite government figures showing 859,828 vacancies for 623,072 BECE candidates.

It said the problem is not necessarily a shortage of places in the system, but the concentration of demand on a limited number of preferred schools, noting that 313,283 candidates selected Category A schools as their first choice though those schools have only 76,417 places available.

The NPP is therefore calling on government to explore alternative measures to accommodate the affected candidates, including using the 85 private schools participating in the Free SHS programme.

It also wants government to improve facilities, staffing and programmes in schools that continue to have unfilled spaces.

The party is further demanding that government publish the final placement outcome to show how many of the 54,985 affected candidates eventually secured school places, insisting that government must be judged by the number of candidates who secure seats in classrooms, not the number who are able to access the self-placement portal.