Catholic Bishops' Conference calls for 20% SHS admission into Catholic schools for church members

The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has called for 20 per cent of annual admissions into Catholic mission schools to be reserved for Catholic students.

The Conference said the arrangement would allow the Church to maintain a meaningful number of students who can participate in the religious and moral formation central to the mission of Catholic schools.

The Bishops made the call in a statement issued on Monday, September 14, on the ongoing Senior High School placement exercise and concerns surrounding admissions into mission schools.

The Conference said the 20 per cent reservation was not a new proposal, explaining that it was a decision reached at the National Catholic Education Forum in Koforidua in 2025.

“This is therefore not a fresh proposal but a call for the implementation of a decision already taken,” the Conference said.

According to the Bishops, many priests and bishops have reported cases where parents seek assistance to secure places for their children in Catholic schools, but such assistance cannot be provided because the places expected under the arrangement are unavailable.

The Conference said repeatedly preventing young Catholics from attending schools established by the Church could weaken their connection to the Catholic faith.

It, however, stressed that the proposed reservation should not become a channel for corruption, favouritism or the exchange of money.

“This reservation is not a private privilege or patronage,” the Conference said.

The Bishops said the arrangement should be administered transparently through the appropriate Boards of Governors and diocesan education offices and subjected to annual audits.

They also directed the National Catholic Secretariat’s education office to prepare, without delay, a clear plan for implementing the 20 per cent admission decision across Catholic schools.