The Reverend Michael Commey, the Accra Regional Coordinator for Free SHS, has defended the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS), saying it has significantly improved since its introduction in 2017.

He said the system was functioning effectively, despite some placement anomalies that required correction.

Rev. Commey was speaking at the resolution centre at the GNAT Hall in Accra, where hundreds of parents and students had gathered to seek redress for placement-related concerns.

“We are using a system. Everywhere we do that since 2017. So, we don’t have any particular challenges,” he told the Ghana News Agency in an interview on Tuesday.

Rev. Commey, however, acknowledged that some students were occasionally placed in schools far from their communities, resulting in difficulties that required administrative intervention.

He cited instances where students residing in Accra had been placed as day students in schools in Tamale, making it impractical for them to commute daily.

“Somebody is in Accra, they have given him a day’s stay in Tamale. The person cannot move out of Accra and go to Tamale. When they bring it here, then we just correct the issue,” he explained.

Asked whether the placement situation had improved, Rev. Commey responded: “Yes, very improved.”

His comments came as parents and students at the resolution centre raised concerns over distant placements, discrepancies between day and boarding placements, and students being assigned to schools different from those they had selected.

Some parents said the distance between their homes and the schools to which their children had been placed would make daily transportation difficult and costly.

Others questioned the suitability of day placements for younger students, particularly where the assigned schools were located far from their homes.

Some students also appealed for placement changes on personal grounds, including cases where siblings had been assigned to different schools.

In one instance, a student whose twin brother had been placed in a different school appealed to the officials to consider placing both siblings in the same school.

Long queues, sleepless nights over SHS placements

The Senior High School placement exercise has descended into a stressful ordeal for thousands of parents and students, with some forced to sleep at the GNAT Hall car park in Accra after spending entire days in queues trying to secure school placements for their children.

The scenes at the Greater Accra Placement Resolution Centre have exposed the growing frustration surrounding the 2026 Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS), as anxious parents continue to troop to the facility in search of solutions to unresolved placement problems.

Some parents have arrived at dawn, hoping to be among the first to receive assistance, only to spend several hours waiting without their cases being resolved.

Others, after submitting complaints and waiting throughout the day, have been asked to return the following morning.

With no accommodation or alternative arrangements, some have opted to remain at the facility with their children rather than risk losing their place in the queue.

The situation has produced long queues both inside and outside the GNAT Hall, with parents travelling from different parts of the Greater Accra Region to seek help.

The pressure is also being felt in Kumasi, where more than 2,000 parents and students reportedly gathered at the Kumasi Technical Institute (KTI) placement resolution centre.

For families across the country, the placement exercise has therefore become more than an administrative process. It has become a race against time to ensure that their children have confirmed schools before the September 18 reporting date.

Parents spend night at centre

For some families, the frustration began after they reported to the schools to which their children had been placed.

Instead of resolving their concerns, they were directed to the placement resolution centre in Accra.

At GNAT Hall, they joined the queues, submitted their complaints and waited.

But the volume of cases meant that not everyone could be attended to before the end of the day.

Some parents seeking changes from day to boarding were required to state their reasons in writing and submit the necessary information for consideration.

After doing so, they were asked to wait.

For some, the waiting lasted throughout the day, only for officials to eventually ask them to return the next day.

That left some parents with an unenviable choice: make another long journey home and return early the following morning, or remain at the centre with their wards. Some chose the latter.

The overnight stay at the GNAT Hall car park has become one of the clearest signs of the desperation among families trying to resolve their children’s placements.

Many of the parents are workers who must report to their jobs to earn money to support their children’s education.

Repeatedly taking time off work to queue at the centre is therefore imposing another cost on families already preparing to pay for uniforms, books, transportation, accommodation and other school requirements.

Day, boarding problems dominate

One of the most common complaints at the centre concerns the residential status assigned to students.

Parents whose children selected boarding schools but received day placements are seeking changes, while others are asking for adjustments in the opposite direction.

For families living far from the schools to which their children have been assigned, a day placement can create serious transportation and logistical difficulties.

Some students have also been placed in schools far from their homes, forcing parents to consider the cost of daily transportation or seek alternative arrangements.

Others are questioning changes in the programmes or courses offered to their children.

There are also complaints about students being assigned to schools they did not select and, in some cases, twins being separated.

For parents, the issue is not simply whether their children have been allocated a school.

They want placements that are practical, affordable and reasonably consistent with the choices they made.

Long queues, unclear direction

The congestion has been compounded by complaints about inadequate communication and direction at the resolution centre.

Some parents said they were instructed to obtain numbers and join queues but remained uncertain about when their cases would be handled.

Others complained that after spending hours at the centre, they still had little clarity about the status of their applications or what further action was required.

The result has been a cycle of waiting, uncertainty and repeated visits.

Parents arrive early, join long queues, wait for hours and, in some instances, leave without an answer—only to return the next day.

The pressure has contributed to growing tension around the facility.

At a point, tensions reportedly boiled over, resulting in a glass door at the entrance of the hall being damaged.

The incident, however, did little to reduce the crowds, as parents and students returned to the centre to pursue their cases.

2,000-plus crowd in Kumasi

The situation in Kumasi paints a similarly troubling picture.

More than 2,000 parents and students reportedly gathered at the KTI resolution centre as they sought urgent solutions to their placement problems.

Some had travelled from as far as Obuasi, adding transport costs and lost working hours to the burden of resolving their children’s placements.

The approaching September 18 reporting date has heightened the anxiety.

Parents say their children cannot confidently prepare to report to school when their placements remain pending or when the schools assigned do not correspond with their circumstances.

Among the complaints in Kumasi are students being placed in schools they did not select, boarding applicants receiving day placements, twins being separated, students being sent far from home and changes in programmes or courses.

More centres needed

The scale of the crowds has triggered calls for additional placement resolution centres, particularly in Greater Accra.

Parents believe decentralising the process would significantly reduce the pressure on the GNAT Hall and shorten waiting times.

They are also calling for more personnel to be deployed to the centres to accelerate the processing of complaints. Clearer communication is another major demand.

Parents want to know exactly where to go, what documents to present, how their cases will be assessed and when they can expect decisions.

Such information, they argue, would reduce confusion and prevent families from spending entire days at the centres without knowing whether their cases will be addressed.

Policy change adds pressure

The problems have emerged against the backdrop of a major change to the placement process introduced in April.

Candidates were allowed to select their preferred senior high schools after receiving their BECE results, rather than making their choices before the examination as was previously done.

While the policy was intended to allow candidates to make school choices with knowledge of their examination results, the large number of complaints now being handled at resolution centres suggests that the implementation has generated significant pressure at the placement stage.

The demand for changes in residential status, school choices, programmes and locations has created a heavy workload for officials.

Students caught in uncertainty

At the heart of the crisis are students who have completed the BECE and are now waiting to begin the next stage of their education.

Instead of preparing for their transition to senior high school, some are accompanying their parents to resolution centres and spending hours in queues.

For parents, the anxiety is equally intense.

A confirmed school placement is necessary before they can make firm arrangements for transportation, accommodation and other school expenses.

The September 18 reporting date leaves little room for prolonged uncertainty.

The authorities must therefore treat the situation with urgency.