BY DANIEL BAMPOE
The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has intensified calls for reforms to the senior high school admission process, demanding greater transparency and accountability in the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) amid growing concerns over alleged discretionary or “protocol” admissions into highly sought-after schools.
The Bishops said public confidence in the placement system could be undermined if parents and students believe that access to prestigious senior high schools is influenced by money, personal connections or political and institutional influence rather than merit and clearly defined admission criteria.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference said it was particularly concerned by allegations that some parents are being asked to pay money to secure placements for their children.
The Conference stressed that if the placement process is officially free, no public official, intermediary or agent should demand or accept payment from families seeking admission for their children.
“We are especially troubled by allegations that parents are asked to pay money to secure places for their children,” the Bishops said, insisting that any such allegations must be properly investigated.
They called for individuals found to have solicited or accepted money in connection with placement to face appropriate disciplinary action and, where the evidence warrants it, criminal prosecution.
At the same time, the Bishops cautioned against treating unverified allegations as established facts, warning that accusations that are not properly investigated could unfairly damage the reputations of public officials and other people involved in the placement process.
A major concern raised by the Conference is the issue of so-called “protocol” admissions, particularly in schools where demand for places significantly exceeds available capacity.
The Bishops want the government to publicly explain whether discretionary spaces are being reserved in some schools and, if so, the legal authority under which such arrangements operate.
They are also demanding disclosure of the number of places involved, the criteria used to determine who benefits from such admissions and the officials or institutions responsible for administering the process.
According to the Bishops, the issue is not simply about whether discretionary admissions exist, but whether such arrangements are transparent, legally grounded and consistent with the principles of fairness governing the national placement system.
The Conference warned that any perception that a student can obtain a place in a sought-after school through financial means, political connections or personal influence could seriously weaken confidence in the entire system.
This concern comes against the backdrop of the scale and complexity of this year’s senior high school placement exercise. The Bishops noted that 604,567 candidates qualified for placement, while 527,932 candidates had been placed when the results were released.
They acknowledged that placement is not determined by examination performance alone. According to the Conference, factors including a candidate’s academic results, selected programme, preference for boarding or day status and the availability of spaces in particular schools all influence the final outcome.
However, the Bishops argued that regardless of the technical considerations involved, the process must produce outcomes that families can understand and that can be demonstrated to be fair.
The Conference has also raised concerns about cases in which students are allegedly assigned to schools that do not properly correspond with their sex, disability, personal circumstances or geographical location.
It therefore wants genuine placement errors to be identified and corrected promptly through accessible and responsive channels.
Particular attention, the Bishops said, should be given to students with disabilities, medical conditions and serious difficulties arising from the distance between their homes and assigned schools.
The Conference believes that students and their families should not be left to navigate an unnecessarily complicated system when a placement error has occurred, especially where the consequences could affect the student’s safety, health or ability to attend school regularly.
Beyond individual complaints, the Bishops are calling for an independent technical examination of the placement system to determine whether the computerised process is functioning as intended.
