More than 34,000 candidates who selected Aburi Girls’ Senior High School and Achimota School as their preferred choices are expected to miss out on admission because of intense competition for limited vacancies.
The situation highlights the growing pressure on Category A schools under the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS), with thousands of candidates competing for a fraction of the available places.
CSSPS Coordinator Sherif Sulemana disclosed that Aburi Girls’ received 8,225 applications for about 800 vacancies, while Achimota attracted approximately 28,000 applications for only about 1,300 places.
Combined, the two schools received more than 36,000 applications for roughly 2,100 available spaces, leaving about 34,000 applicants competing for alternative placements.
The competition has been particularly intense among candidates with strong aggregate scores.
At Aburi Girls’, about 3,000 applicants obtained aggregates between six and 12, despite the school having only about 800 vacancies.
Achimota recorded an even wider gap, with approximately 14,800 applicants scoring between six and 12 competing for around 1,300 places.
Mr Sulemana explained that these figures demonstrate why a good aggregate does not automatically guarantee placement in a candidate’s preferred school.
“Those are the realities within which we operate, and we want the general public to understand,” he said.
He stressed that the placement process considers more than aggregate scores, with the number of available spaces and the level of competition for individual schools also influencing the outcome.
Meanwhile, about 50,000 of the approximately 620,000 candidates who sat the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) will not qualify for placement in senior high schools because they failed either English Language or Mathematics.
According to Mr Sulemana, candidates must pass both subjects to qualify for placement, regardless of their overall aggregate.
He said a candidate could record a strong aggregate but still be excluded from the placement process if the candidate failed either English Language or Mathematics.
About 565,000 candidates have already been placed, with the results expected to be officially announced on Friday, September 4, 2026.
The Ministry of Education has also introduced changes aimed at making the placement and admission process more convenient.
These include decentralised regional complaints centres and digital admission downloads, meaning candidates who secure placement will no longer have to travel to collect physical admission letters.
Press Secretary and Spokesperson for the Minister of Education, Hashmin Mohammed, said call centre lines would also be made available to candidates in districts located far from regional resolution centres.
He acknowledged that extending the complaints system to the district level would have been ideal but said the Ministry was working within available resources.
He added that the arrangement could be reviewed if the regional centres prove inadequate to deal with complaints from candidates and parents.
