The Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Tema West Constituency, James Tamakloe, has called on the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the government to ensure transparency, fairness and diligence in the implementation of the 2026 Senior High School (SHS) placement process.
His remarks follow the release of the official guidelines for the 2026 BECE school selection exercise by the GES and the Ministry of Education. The exercise, which begins on Monday, August 3, will see candidates select their preferred Senior High Schools under the Free SHS programme.
Under the new guidelines, placement into schools and programmes will be based primarily on merit, with candidates’ raw scores and aggregates determining admission. In cases where candidates obtain the same aggregate, raw scores will be used to break the tie.
The Ministry has also maintained that candidates who are not placed through the automatic placement system will have the opportunity to select available schools through the Self-Placement Module.
Additionally, 15 percent of the total vacancies in all Category A schools have been reserved for candidates from public basic schools who select those institutions.
Speaking on Nkosuo Nsem on Plan B FM with Kofi Sekyi, Mr. Tamakloe cautioned against the politicisation of the placement process. He urged authorities to ensure that the 15 percent quota reserved for public school candidates is implemented fairly and is not manipulated to favour more privileged families.
According to him, transparency and fairness must remain the hallmarks of the placement exercise to guarantee equal opportunities for all qualified candidates, regardless of their background.
By: Bernard Mensah
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