Parents, JHS leavers converge at Kumasi Resolution Centre over SHS placement challenges

Parents and candidates facing challenges with the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) convened at the Kumasi Resolution Centre to seek urgent solutions for their placement issues. The centre has been a hub for a continuous stream of parents and their children, with some expressing frustration over pending placements, while others claim they were placed in schools they had not chosen.

As the deadline for the reporting of newly placed Senior High School (SHS) students looms, many parents are in a state of anxiety. One parent has implored the authorities to swiftly resolve the pending placement cases, with schools reopening on September 18. The parent explained that they are urging the authorities to resolve the pending cases because the students are set to start school on the 18th, but they are unaware of their destinations, having not prepared accordingly.

Another parent, who had traveled from Obuasi, recounted that she and others were asked to wait before their concerns could be heard. After waiting for an extended period, they were informed to return on Friday as the available numbers had been exhausted. This parent also expressed dissatisfaction with the schools selected for their child, who was assigned to a non-preferred technical school, and lamented the repeated trips to the centre as causing additional inconvenience and financial strain.

A third parent, visibly distressed, disclosed her inability to rest due to her child's pending placement, despite being assigned to a technical school. She recounted frequent early morning journeys to the resolution centre, only to leave without resolution. The parent appealed to the Ghana Education Service (GES) for urgent intervention, emphasizing her own responsibilities and inability to continually forgo her work.

The uncertainty surrounding her child's admission is making it difficult for families to prepare for the academic year, especially with the opening of schools approaching. Parents are demanding swift action from the GES and other responsible authorities to resolve pending placements and address instances where students have been placed in schools they did not select.

They are also calling for improved communication and more efficient processing at the resolution centre to alleviate long waiting times and the need for frequent visits. The parents gathered at KTI Hall express growing anxiety as they grapple with the uncertainty of where their children will attend school, stating that they cannot make the necessary preparations until the placement issues are resolved.