Don’t use 313,000 Category A schools applications to justify placement problems – Kwasi Kwarteng to Education Minister

A former Public Relations Officer at the Ministry of Education, Kwasi Kwarteng, has challenged the government's presentation of figures on the Senior High School (SHS) placement process.

He said the comparison between 313,000 applications for Category A schools and 76,000 available vacancies creates a misleading impression about the level of competition within the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS).

His comments follow remarks by Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu that the 313,000 applications for Category A schools against 76,000 vacancies had created a “real difficulty” in the placement exercise.

“The attempt to juxtapose 313,000 applications for Category A schools against only 76,000 vacancies creates a misleading impression that 313,000 students were competing exclusively for those 76,000 places, with nowhere else to go. That is simply not how the placement system works," he stated in a social media post on Thursday, September 17.

Kwarteng explained that candidates under the CSSPS are required to select multiple schools in order of preference, rather than compete for admission to only one institution.

According to him, the selection rules also limit the number of highly categorised schools candidates can choose and require them to include other options, including a compulsory day-school choice.

He therefore argued that a candidate counted among the 313,000 applicants who selected a Category A school could simultaneously have selected Category B, Category C or other schools.

He said the same candidate could also rank a Category B school ahead of a Category A school, meaning the figures cannot be treated as 313,000 students competing exclusively for 76,000 Category A vacancies.

“313,000 applications cannot simply be placed against 76,000 vacancies as though they represent 313,000 students demanding those 76,000 places at all costs," the former Education Ministry PRO said.

Mr Kwarteng said the placement system is designed to consider a candidate's subsequent choices when the candidate is unable to secure a higher preference, subject to factors including eligibility, programme, accommodation and available vacancies.

He acknowledged that the figures could indicate that Category A schools are heavily preferred and oversubscribed, but said that alone does not establish that placement difficulties are inevitable.

He urged the Education Minister to focus on weaknesses within the placement system rather than relying on the 313,000-versus-76,000 comparison to explain the challenges confronting the exercise.