SHS School Placement: Over 34,000 Bounced After Choosing Aburi Girls, Achimota School

• The CSSPS Coordinator revealed that more than 36,000 candidates selected Aburi Girls' and Achimota as their preferred schools for 2026 placement
• At Achimota alone, 14,800 applicants with aggregates between six and 12 are competing for only 1,300 declared vacancies
• CSSPS results are expected to be released on September 4, 2026, leaving thousands of candidates facing placement in alternative schools

More than 36,000 candidates selected either Aburi Girls' Senior High School or Achimota School as their preferred choice in the 2026 Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) exercise, yet the two schools have a combined total of only approximately 2,100 available places.

The CSSPS Coordinator, Sherif Sulemana, disclosed the figures during a radio interview on Joy FM.

He warned that roughly 34,000 of those applicants would have to be absorbed into other schools when placement results are published on Friday, September 4, 2026.

The scale of the mismatch is stark at both institutions. Aburi Girls' received 8,225 applications for around 800 vacancies, while Achimota attracted close to 28,000 applications for approximately 1,300 places.

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The competition becomes even more intense among high-performing candidates. At Aburi Girls', some 3,000 of the 8,225 applicants recorded aggregates between six and 12, all chasing a share of 800 spots.

At Achimota, 14,800 candidates with aggregates in that same range are competing for the school's 1,300 declared vacancies.

"Those are the realities within which we operate, and we want the general public to understand," Sulemana said.

How Placement Decisions Are Made

Sulemana clarified that aggregate scores alone do not determine where a candidate is placed. All applicants are ranked nationally from the strongest aggregate to the weakest. When candidates competing for the same school, programme and residential status share an identical aggregate, raw examination scores are then used to settle the tie.

Programme preferences and boarding choices are subsequently matched against whatever places remain at each school. This means a candidate with a slightly weaker aggregate could still be placed ahead of another if their raw scores are higher once a tie-breaking exercise becomes necessary.

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He advised parents and candidates to manage expectations accordingly and not assume a strong aggregate guarantees placement in a preferred school.

Sulemana also raised the question of whether raw scores should continue to be used solely as an internal tie-breaking tool, suggesting the CSSPS Secretariat may need to review how those figures are published and communicated to the public.

Changes for 2026 BECE candidates

This year's process marks a notable departure from previous practice. In past years, candidates chose their preferred senior high schools before sitting the BECE.

The policy has now been revised so that students can first review their results and assess their performance before making school selections.

Candidates will also be required to select eight senior high schools in total, one more than the seven permitted last year.

Among those choices, they must include two Category 'A' schools, one with boarding facilities and the other a day school within their district.

Source: YEN.com.gh