Use 85 Private SHSs Under Free SHS To Absorb Stranded Students - Barbara Ayisi To Gov't

A member of the New Patriotic Party's Policy Coordination Committee, Hon. Barbara Asher Ayisi, has urged government to utilize the 85 private senior high schools integrated into the Free SHS framework to absorb students stranded after the recent placement.

Speaking on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM's Frontline show, the former Deputy Minister for Education said the move will help address the current crisis where over 55,000 BECE candidates are without school placement.

According to her, official data shows there are 859,828 vacancies against 623,072 candidates, which means capacity is enough, with congestion only in Category A schools. She therefore sees no reason why thousands of students should be left at home.

"Government should utilise the 85 private SHSs that have been integrated into the Free SHS programme to absorb these candidates instead of leaving them stranded," she said.

Hon. Ayisi also noted that 54,985 BECE candidates were initially told they had not qualified for SHS, before 53,887 of them were later directed to the self-placement portal – a situation she described as mismanagement of the placement framework.

She said the ongoing challenges with the Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) must be addressed without political bias and warned that failure to find a lasting solution will see the same problem recur next year.

The NPP is calling on government to ensure all 54,985 affected students get physical placements, publish the final placement list transparently, and clarify the pass marks and criteria used this year.

She further urged authorities to adequately fund academic interventions in public SHSs and publish regional breakdowns of available spaces in TVET, apprenticeship and other skills training programmes to give stranded students alternative pathways.