The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has expressed deep concern over the difficulties surrounding the ongoing Senior High School placement exercise and called for greater fairness, openness and fidelity to the original mission of the placement system.
In a statement, the Bishops said they have followed with concern the anxiety, disappointment and allegations of unfairness affecting students, parents and the wider public. As shepherds of the people of God and citizens concerned for the common good, they cannot remain silent when the integrity of education is at stake.
They stressed that education is both a fundamental right and a good for the whole nation. No child should be unfairly denied access to a suitable school, manipulated or humiliated during placement. Every parent deserves a system that is open, accountable, respectful and free from bribery, discrimination and undue influence.
The Bishops noted that of the 604,567 candidates who qualified for placement this year, 527,932 had been placed when the results were released. While placement will always depend to some degree on academic performance, programme choice, boarding or day preference and available spaces, outcomes should be understandable and demonstrably fair.
They expressed particular concern over reports of students being placed in schools unsuited to their sex, disability, circumstances or location. No student should be sent to a day school so far from home that daily attendance becomes unreasonable, costly or unsafe. Students with disabilities should be placed in schools equipped to meet their needs, and genuine errors should be corrected quickly through accessible channels.
The Conference said it is especially troubled by allegations that parents are asked to pay money to secure places for their children. If placement is meant to be free, no official, agent or intermediary should request or accept payment for it. Such allegations deserve investigation, and those found responsible should face disciplinary measures and, where warranted, criminal charges.
The Bishops also called for clarity on the practice of so-called “protocol” admissions. If places in sought-after schools are set aside through discretionary arrangements, the public deserves to know their legal basis, the number of places involved, the criteria applied and who is responsible.
On mission schools, the Bishops recalled that Catholic and other Christian schools were founded by the Churches long before the modern state assumed responsibility for universal education. They resolved at their National Catholic Education Forum in Koforidua in 2025 that one place in every five, or twenty per cent of admissions to mission schools, should be reserved each year for Catholic candidates. They instructed the National Catholic Secretariat’s education office to prepare a clear plan for implementing this decision without delay and called for the long-discussed agreement between the government and the Churches on the management of mission schools to be concluded and signed.
The Bishops further recommended that the placement system be examined by independent technical experts, with the main findings made public. Families should understand the principal factors determining placement, and there should be a strong, accessible appeals process with clear steps and time limits. Cases involving sex, disability, medical needs, serious distance difficulties or administrative error should receive priority.
They also urged that school categories be reviewed periodically so that they do not become a permanent hierarchy, and that the government invest more in buildings, teachers, laboratories and learning materials so that quality education is distributed more evenly and pressure on the most sought-after schools is reduced.
