The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has called for an independent technical review of the senior high school placement system, saying greater transparency is needed to restore public confidence in the fairness of admissions.
The Bishops said families must be able to understand how decisions under the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) are made, including the role of examination results, programme choices, cut-off points or rankings and available spaces.
In a statement on Monday, the Conference said the placement process should produce outcomes that are not only technically sound but also “understandable and demonstrably fair.”
It therefore called for the findings of an independent review of the system to be made public.
The Bishops’ demand follows growing concerns over alleged discretionary or “protocol” admissions into highly sought-after senior high schools.
They said government must explain the legal basis for any such arrangements, the number of places involved, the criteria used and the officials or institutions responsible for administering them.
“If places in sought-after schools are set aside through discretionary arrangements, the public deserves to know their legal basis, the number of places involved, the criteria applied, and who is responsible,” the Conference said.
The Bishops also raised concerns over allegations that some parents are being asked to pay money to secure placement for their children.
“We are especially troubled by allegations that parents are asked to pay money to secure places for their children,” they said.
The Conference stressed that placement must remain free and called for investigations into any official, agent or intermediary found demanding or accepting payment.
It said persons found culpable should face disciplinary action and, where appropriate, criminal prosecution.
At the same time, the Bishops cautioned against treating unverified allegations as established facts, saying innocent public servants should not have their reputations damaged without evidence.
The Conference said the placement system must not create a perception that money, political connections or influence can give some students access to opportunities denied to equally qualified candidates.
This year, 604,567 candidates qualified for placement, with 527,932 students placed when the results were released.
The Bishops acknowledged that placement decisions are influenced by several factors, including academic performance, programme selection, boarding or day preferences and the availability of places.
However, they said these factors must be applied in a manner that is transparent and capable of being explained to affected families.
The Conference also called for urgent correction of cases in which students are allegedly placed in schools that are unsuitable because of their sex, disability, medical circumstances or geographical location.
It urged the authorities to establish accessible channels through which genuine errors can be corrected quickly, particularly where students have disabilities, medical needs or face serious difficulties because of distance.
The Bishops further proposed a stronger appeals mechanism with clearly defined procedures and deadlines to enable families to challenge questionable placement decisions.
Beyond the technical operation of the CSSPS, the Conference renewed its call for government and the Churches to conclude the long-awaited agreement on the management of mission schools.
It also reaffirmed its decision to reserve 20 per cent of annual admissions to Catholic mission schools for Catholic candidates.
“We are therefore instructing the National Catholic Secretariat’s education office to prepare, without delay, a clear plan for implementing this decision across our schools,” the Bishops said.
They stressed that any such arrangement must be transparent, audited annually and must strictly prohibit the exchange of money.
The Bishops said the broader objective should be to ensure that access to senior high education is determined by merit, student choice and fairness rather than financial capacity, connections or influence.
They said the welfare and best interests of the child must remain the central consideration in every placement decision.
