The Education Ministry has announced that more than 50% of the over 53,000 students who did not receive placement through Ghana’s Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) have successfully secured placement through the self-placement process.

Addressing the media, Hashmin Mohammed, Press Secretary to Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu, said the progress had eased pressure on the ministry’s resolution centres, which had been crowded with parents and students seeking assistance over placement issues.

“We have moved beyond 50% of the over 53,000 students who were given the pathway to do self-placement. That tells you that we have given opportunity for more Ghanaian students to access secondary education,” he said.

The 2026 Senior High School placement exercise was extended by one week by the Ministry of Education. As a result, the resolution centres were opened from Monday, September 14, to Friday, September 18, to allow students with outstanding placement issues to secure schools ahead of the September 18 reopening.

Of the 9,948 cases reported at resolution centres across the country, 4,531 were resolved by the CSSPS Secretariat last week.

This was disclosed by Mr Mohammed while addressing the media. According to him, 33,726 students had successfully secured placement in various schools out of the 53,887 students eligible for self-placement.

“The resolution centres will remain active from Monday till Friday, and we are hoping that by Friday, the numbers should be able to go down because on September 18, they will report to school,” he added.

“Out of the 53,887 category of self-placement students, we have had 33,726 who have been able to self-place themselves into various schools and out of 9,948 reported cases at the resolution centres throughout the country, the CSSPS Secretariat has been able to resolve 4,531 so far,” he said.

Challenges with the CSSPS include unsuccessful placement, difficulties with school selection and requests to change placements from day to boarding and vice versa.

Some frustrated parents who spoke to the media on Wednesday, September 8, said that after failing to resolve their concerns in previous days, they had to spend the night at the facility and return at dawn to seek help.

One parent said: “I left home as early as 3 a.m. and got here at 4 a.m. The officials started work around 8 a.m. We were asked to write our reasons for changing from day to boarding. After collecting the forms, they told us to wait. I came early today and pleaded with them to attend to us. So I am still waiting.”

Meanwhile, candidates who obtained a grade 9 in English Language and/or Mathematics have been offered the opportunity to choose an available school themselves through the CSSPS.

Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, September 7, Deputy Minister for Education, Dr Clement Apaak, noted that the affected individuals could select schools and programmes with available vacancies through the CSSPS.

“Accordingly, candidates who obtain a score of 9 in either English Language or Mathematics or in both subjects will be allowed to access the self-placement system and select from schools and programmes with available vacancies. The objective is to ensure that no young person is unnecessarily left behind whilst maintaining the integrity of the placement and examination systems,” Dr Apaak said.

According to the provisional results released by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) for the 2026 WASSCE for school candidates, a total of 74,692 candidates who sat for the examination obtained an F9 in Core Mathematics, representing 14.82% of the candidates who wrote the subject.

The results showed that 306,234 candidates, representing 60.75%, obtained grades between A1 and C6 in Core Mathematics. This means that while more than half of the candidates obtained credit passes in the subject, a significant number failed to achieve a passing grade.

Core Mathematics recorded the lowest A1-C6 performance among the four core subjects. In comparison, 315,094 candidates, representing 62.40%, obtained A1 to C6 in English Language, while 309,605 candidates, representing 62.08%, recorded grades between A1 and C6 in Integrated Science.

Social Studies recorded the highest performance, with 393,918 candidates, representing 78.04%, obtaining grades from A1 to C6.

Core Mathematics also recorded a high number of F9 grades compared with the other core subjects.

Integrated Science recorded 76,136 F9 grades, representing 15.27%, slightly higher than the 14.82% recorded in Core Mathematics.

In English Language, 55,940 candidates, representing 11.08%, obtained F9, while Social Studies recorded the lowest F9 figure, with 39,416 candidates, representing 7.81%.