CSSPS promises transparency ahead of Free SHS roll-out

The Computerized School Selection and Placement System secretariat says it is committed to transparency in its work as the government rolls out the Free Senior High School policy.

National Coordinator, Mark Sasu, says the system has undergone some transformation to position it well for the task ahead.

The CSSPS Was introduced in 2005 by the Ghana Education Service to replace manual system of selecting basic school graduates into second-cycle institutions.

The Secretariat, however, has had its short comings.

Candidates' refusal to accept placement in schools other than their first-choice options, sometimes amid allegations of bribery, are some of the issues the Secretariat has had to deal with.

Officials, however, say everything is being done to make operations of the CSSPS transparent.

National Coordinator, Mark Sasu is assuring the public of improved quality service delivery.

"Many at times, parents or candidates refuse to accept postings and that's our major problem that we have. The school that the person has set his mind just to go, if you place him outside that school, he doesn't accept it and he would be going around making noise and those kind of things, "says Mr. Sasu.

He says school heads will receive free laptops and dongles to enable them access information on placements from a common platform.

Mr Sasu says the effort is to avoid chaos associated with the release of senior high school placements.

"This time we want transparency to come in CSSPS. I am not saying that previously there was no transparency. What I am trying to say is that we want to improve the service delivery in terms of quality service delivery."

Though the CSSP Secretariat anticipates some challenges, it wants public support in resolving them for a smooth process.

Mr. Sasu appeals to students to accept placements to ensure sanity in the system.

"We have Free SHS Implementation Secretariat whereby we have a Call Centre set up in there to ensure that those who have problems, they call in and their problems would be answered. They should have patience for us," he emphasized.