School Placement Made Easy: CSSPS Provides Support and Education for Parents and Students
By: Isaac Boamah Darko
Students who recently completed the 2023 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) at the Junior High School level in Ghana have the opportunity to enter public Senior High Schools or Technical/Vocational Schools through the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS). This system, administered by the Ghana Education Service (GES), aims to ensure a smooth and fair placement process for qualified candidates.
To inform parents, guardians, candidates, and the general public about the placement system, the GES and the Technical/Vocational Education and Training Service (TVETS) have made arrangements for disseminating information. Mark Sasu Mensah, the national coordinator for the CSSPS, shared in a phone conversation with The Metro Lens newspaper that the secretariat is actively sensitizing students and parents on the process of selecting a preferred school.
According to Sasu Mensah, candidates who wish to enter Senior High Schools or Technical/Vocational Schools must follow specific guidelines provided by parents/guardians and school authorities. These guidelines include selecting six schools and ranking them in order of preference, with the first choice being the most preferred. Candidates must also choose programs and residential status for each school choice.
Furthermore, candidates are required to select a compulsory day school as their sixth choice, which should be within 16 kilometers of the Junior High School they attended. Alternatively, they can choose a boarding school from the list provided in Appendix 3.
In case candidates miss out on all their initial six choices, they are advised to select five schools from Appendix 4, consisting of one Category A school, two Category B schools, and at least two Category C schools. This selection will be considered for a second placement opportunity.
Sasu Mensah emphasized that candidates are not allowed to choose more than one school from Category A or more than two schools from Category B. However, they may select five schools from Category C and one school from either Category D (Day) or Appendix 3 (Special Boarding).
Lastly, candidates who are interested in pursuing purely Technical/Vocational Education and Training (TVET) or STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) programs must select all six institutes/schools from Categories A, B, and C as either day or boarding schools.
The selection process for the CSSPS will commence on September 17, 2023. It is important for candidates and their parents/guardians to carefully consider their choices and adhere to the guidelines provided to ensure a successful placement into Senior High Schools or Technical/Vocational Schools.
The GES and TVETS are committed to providing equal opportunities for all qualified candidates and ensuring a transparent and efficient placement process through the CSSPS.