{
  "id": 7272807,
  "title": "Haruna admits SHS placement is a ‘Problem’, But rejects failure tag",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/haruna-admits-shs-placement-is-a-problem-but-rejects-failure-tag",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-14T07:53:34.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Chronicle Ghana",
    "slug": "the-chronicle-ghana",
    "url": "https://thechronicle.com.gh/haruna-admits-shs-placement-is-a-problem-but-rejects-failure-tag/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu, serving as MP for Tamale South, acknowledged challenges in the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) but dismissed claims of failure. He attributed the root cause to infrastructure lagging behind Free Senior High School expansion under the previous administration. Iddrisu emphasized addressing underlying issues rather than symptoms, noting that 87% of 604,000 students were placed, with unplaced vacancies concentrated in less-preferred schools. Category A schools faced the most demand, with roughly 76,000 spots available for 313,000–328,000 applicants. Iddrisu rejected claims of 800 disputed vacancies under the previous government, attributing vacancies instead to private schools admitting WASSCE graduates. The minister explained the crisis stemmed from unmanaged enrolment growth under Free SHS, citing examples like Prempeh College's enrollment surge. Plans include infrastructure funding, expanding elite schools, and converting categories of schools, aiming to tackle regional capacity gaps. Regarding bribery allegations at CSSPS centres, Iddrisu pledged to involve police CID upon receiving any reports of misconduct.",
  "summary": "Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, who doubles as the Member of Parliament for Tamale South, has acknowledged shortcomings in this year’s Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) but disputed characterisations of the process as a failure. He argued that the underlying crisis stems from infrastructure that failed to keep pace with the previous administration’s Free […] The post…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}