The government has opened a fresh opportunity for thousands of candidates who were not captured in Ghana’s automatic Senior High School placement, following the release of the 2026 Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) results.
The Ministry of Education announced that 527,932 candidates have secured automatic placement into Senior High Schools (SHSs), Senior High Technical Schools (SHTSs) and technical and vocational institutions for the 2026/2027 academic year.
However, the Ministry said 57,259 candidates did not meet the requirements for automatic placement, including candidates who failed to achieve the required grades in English Language and Mathematics.
At a press briefing in Accra on Monday, September 7, 2026, Deputy Minister for Education, Dr Clement Abas Apaak, said the government had decided to allow candidates who obtained grade 9 in English and/or Mathematics to access the self-placement portal.
The move is expected to give such candidates another opportunity to secure admission into schools with available vacancies rather than being completely shut out of the placement process.
The Ministry said the 57,259 candidates comprise 3,372 who did not sit for the BECE, 35,382 who obtained grade 9 in either English or Mathematics, and 18,505 who obtained grade 9 in both subjects.
The 3,372 candidates who have no examination results, however, will not be placed at this stage. They will instead be given an opportunity to resit the examination.
The broader placement exercise involved 623,072 candidates who sat for the 2026 BECE, an increase of 19,744 candidates over the 603,328 who wrote the examination last year.
Of the total, 604,567 candidates qualified for placement, with 527,932 automatically placed, representing 87.3 percent of qualified candidates.
The figure comprises 276,521 females and 251,411 males.
The Ministry attributed the failure of some qualified candidates to secure automatic placement to intense competition for highly subscribed Category A schools rather than an overall shortage of school places.
Data presented by the Ministry showed that 313,283 candidates selected Category A schools as their first choice, compared with 176,614 who selected Category B, 123,577 who selected Category C and 995 who chose private SHSs.
However, available vacancies stood at 76,417 in Category A schools, 250,366 in Category B and 468,652 in Category C, out of a total of 859,828 declared vacancies.
“The issue is not simply the availability of spaces…It is largely a mismatch between where vacancies exist and where candidates most strongly prefer to be placed,” Dr Apaak explained.
To further expand access, the government said 85 private Senior High Schools would participate in the Free SHS programme for the 2026/2027 academic year.
The arrangement is expected to provide additional placement options and reduce pressure on public schools that attract exceptionally high demand.
The Ministry has also upgraded the CSSPS with an admission portal through which parents can enrol their children and download admission forms without having to travel to schools.
School heads have meanwhile been cautioned against admitting students outside the CSSPS, as the Ministry seeks to maintain transparency and order in the placement process.
To address complaints and placement-related challenges, resolution centres have been established at all regional Ghana Education Service and Ghana TVET Service offices, while GNAT Hall in Accra has been designated as the National Placement Resolution Centre.
Dr Apaak stressed that the entire placement process is free of charge, warning parents and candidates against individuals who demand money in exchange for placement or changes to school assignments.
“No parent should pay money to any individual, whether that person claims to be an official of the Ministry, GES, TVET Service, a school official or intermediary, to secure or change placement. There is no legitimate protocol placement that requires payment,” he said.
He urged anyone approached for payment to report the matter to the Ghana Police Service or the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
Parents and candidates seeking assistance can contact the official placement call centre on 055 037 7388, 059 952 5926, 059 844 5898, 059 797 4847 and 055 855 5431.
