Candidates to select two Category A schools under new rules

Candidates sitting this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination will navigate a revised school selection process after the Ghana Education Service introduced reforms aimed at easing longstanding placement bottlenecks in the senior high school system.

At the centre of the changes is a new requirement for candidates to select two Category A Senior High Schools, one boarding and one day, both within their locality. The total number of school choices has also increased from seven to eight, giving students slightly more room to widen their options.

Director-General Professor Ernest Kofi Davis, who announced the reforms ahead of the 2026 BECE, said the adjustments are a direct response to problems that have plagued the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) in previous years, particularly congestion at top-tier institutions and mismatches between students and their placed schools.

Beyond the selection changes, the GES is also shifting when placement begins. Rather than waiting for results before starting the process, placements will now commence immediately after the examination ends, a move designed to create enough processing time before senior high schools reopen on September 18. Prof. Davis noted that authorities have between 19 and 20 weeks to complete the exercise and expressed confidence that lessons drawn from last year would support a smoother outcome.

The reforms further extend flexibility to the selection of Category B and Category C schools, broadening the range of realistic choices available to candidates.

Prof. Davis stressed that the overhaul is built around three priorities, fairness, efficiency, and accessibility, as the GES works to ensure that more students are placed appropriately and on time.