The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called on the government to provide actual secondary school placements for the 54,985 BECE candidates who were initially left without school assignments.
The opposition party has also criticised the government’s decision to allow the affected candidates to access the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) for self-placement, arguing that access to the online portal does not guarantee a place in a school.
‘A Portal Is Not a School Place’
According to the NPP, many of the preferred schools and programmes could already be full by the time affected candidates access the self-placement system.
The party said the focus should therefore be on securing actual seats in classrooms for the affected candidates rather than simply giving them access to an online platform.
“A portal is not a school place,” a statement signed by NPP Policy Co-ordination Committee Chairman, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said.
The NPP questioned why thousands of candidates remain unplaced despite government figures indicating that there are 859,828 vacancies for 623,072 BECE candidates.
Category A Schools Under Pressure
The party argued that the challenge is not necessarily a lack of spaces within the education system, but the high concentration of demand on a limited number of preferred schools.
It said 313,283 candidates selected Category A schools as their first choice, while those schools have only 76,417 available places.
The NPP is therefore urging the government to explore alternative measures to accommodate candidates who remain unplaced.
Among its proposals is the use of the 85 private senior high schools participating in the Free SHS programme to absorb some of the affected candidates.
Calls for Improved Facilities and Transparency
The opposition party is also calling for improvements in facilities, staffing and academic programmes in schools that continue to have unfilled spaces, arguing that such measures could make those schools more attractive to students and parents.
Additionally, the NPP wants the government to publish the final placement figures showing how many of the 54,985 affected candidates eventually secure school places.
The party insists that the success of the placement exercise should be measured by the number of candidates who ultimately obtain seats in classrooms—not simply by how many are able to access the self-placement portal.
The controversy comes as the government faces growing pressure over the 2026 SHS placement exercise and concerns from parents and candidates about securing preferred schools and programmes.
