GES extends school selection deadline

The Ghana Education Service (GES) has announced an extension of the 2025 school selection deadline to Wednesday, June 25, giving final-year Junior High School (JHS) students additional time to revise their choices following a landmark expansion of the Free SHS policy to include private Senior High Schools.

This follows a major government directive to integrate select private SHSs into the Free Senior High School programme starting from the 2026/2027 academic year—a policy shift aimed at expanding access to secondary education and easing congestion in the country’s overstretched public schools.

In a circular dated Thursday, June 13, the GES instructed all Regional Directors of Education to relay the new deadline to Metro, Municipal, and District Directors, and ensure that heads of JHSs inform their final-year students accordingly.

“This extension has become necessary due to the inclusion of private Senior High Schools in the selection process, allowing candidates additional time to make well-informed choices,” the GES stated.

Students have been advised to seek guidance from teachers, parents, and guardians in selecting their preferred schools, as the newly added private institutions now appear in a supplementary register attached to the standard school selection booklet.

While the structure and procedures for the selection process remain unchanged, the inclusion of private SHSs represents a transformative moment in Ghana’s education policy—one expected to provide students with broader options and reduce the mounting strain on public school infrastructure.

By extending the deadline, the GES hopes to ensure that candidates have sufficient time to understand the implications of the expanded selection framework and make thoughtful, informed decisions.