By Isaac Arkoh
Cape Coast, Sept 12, GNA – The Central Regional Computerised School Selection and Placement (CSSP) Resolution Centre had attended to more than 500 students facing placement challenges since it began operations on Wednesday.
The exercise, underway at the Central Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), recorded a surge of students and parents seeking corrections, transfers and clarifications.
Mr Francis Asmah, Central Region Coordinator for Free Senior High School (SHS) told the Ghana News Agency that preparations started on Wednesday and ramped up on Thursday.
He said more than 200 students were served on Thursday alone and we were doubling efforts to handle more than 500 cases.”
He added that his outfit was working assiduously to clear a backlog of unresolved cases from this year’s computerised school placement exercise.
Mr Asmah said the main problems brought to the centre included requests to change schools, change programmes (for example from general arts to business or science), mismatches in distance and residential status, and errors in data that affected eligibility.
He said teams of placement officers, IT personnel and regional education officials had worked together to verify records, correct data entry errors and, where appropriate, effect transfers.
He advised parents to be pragmatic and proactive in school selection and to verify the accuracy of their child’s data including home address and residential status on the placement portal before deadlines.
He urged parents to consider proximity, programme fit and a school’s subject strengths when choosing options rather than relying on a single preferred school.
“Choose a school where your ward can thrive academically and logistically. Distance affects attendance and performance. When you rank choices, balance aspiration with practicality,” he said.
Mr Asmah also encouraged students to rank programmes that matched their strengths and career plans rather than selecting schools solely for prestige.
He urged them to accept placements in schools with strong subject offerings instead of distant options that may be unworkable, to keep copies of academic records and reference numbers and to follow up promptly if a placement appeared incorrect.
“Use the resolution centre and regional office channels early instead of waiting until problem cases pile up,” he added.
In separate interviews with the GNA, several students complained they had been placed in schools far from their home communities, while others said programmes given to them did not match their grades or career plans.
GNA reporters observed long queues outside the RCC compound, with many people seated on staircases and along corridors awaiting their turn.
The atmosphere in the waiting area ranged from anxiety to frustration as some students appeared disillusioned after repeated attempts to resolve placement problems through online channels and school offices.
“I have been here since early morning, they told us to wait and wait,” one visibly tired student who came with his father from Assin Praso in the Assin North District said.
“My son passed for science, but he was placed in general arts. I don’t know what to do next,” a parent who asked not to be named added.
Several parents complained about communication breakdown and the slow pace of resolution.
“I travelled from Abura Dunkwa to get this fixed. The system gave my daughter a placement that is nowhere near home and impossible to commute daily,” Mrs Esi Mensah said.
“We were given reference numbers but by the time the number was called it seemed they had already helped others,” she added.
GNA
Edited by Alice Tettey /Kenneth Odeng Adade
Reporter: Isaac Arkoh