A parent seeking a place for his daughter at a prestigious St. Louis Senior High School in Kumasi has alleged that he was asked to pay GHC15,000 to secure admission, as thousands of families struggle with the country’s senior high school placement system.

The man, who identified himself as Michael, popularly known as Abusua, said he was initially directed to Chirapatre Presby after his daughter was not placed in a senior high school through the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS).

He said his daughter, who scored an aggregate 9 in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), wanted to attend St Louis Senior High School in Kumasi.

“They demanded GHC15,000. We wanted to pay GHC10,000 but they rejected,” he said in a video circulating online.

Abusua said he later visited another school in Akyena, where he was allegedly asked for GHC5,000, but his daughter did not want to attend the school.

Favouritism

He then travelled to a placement resolution centre in an attempt to have her placement changed.

Abusua said he arrived at the centre at about 4:23 am and was still waiting more than six hours later, at number 206 in the queue.

He also alleged that a man at the centre was collecting membership cards from supporters of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), suggesting that political affiliation could be used to influence school placements.

“A man came collecting membership cards of NDC members aimed at placing their wards to their preferred schools. This is very unfortunate,” he said.

Asaase News could not independently verify the allegations of demands for money or political favouritism.

Earlier warning

The Ministry of Education has repeatedly warned parents that placement under the CSSPS is free.

“School placement is absolutely free. There is no legitimate protocol placement that requires the payment of money,” Deputy Education Minister Clement Apaak said on 7 September, urging parents not to pay anyone claiming to be able to secure or change a placement.

The ministry said 57,259 candidates were not placed during the initial 2026 CSSPS exercise out of 604,567 qualified candidates.

A total of 527,932 candidates were automatically placed, representing 87.3 percent, while 57,259 candidates were left to use the self-placement process or seek assistance at resolution centres.

Of those not initially placed, 35,382 candidates obtained a grade 9 in either mathematics or English and are eligible to use the self-placement portal, according to the ministry.

The government has attributed much of the pressure to a mismatch between school choices and available places rather than an overall shortage of vacancies.

More than 313,000 candidates selected Category A schools as their first choice, while only about 76,000 vacancies were declared in those schools.

Across all categories, 859,828 vacancies were declared, exceeding the number of qualified candidates.

The ministry released the 2026 placement results on 4 September and has opened the self-placement portal for candidates who were not automatically placed.

It has also directed school heads not to admit students outside the CSSPS process.

But parents seeking changes to placements have continued to report long waits at resolution centres in Accra and Kumasi, with some arriving as early as 4 am.

For Abusua, the official assurances have done little to ease his frustration.

“Do you think this country will progress?” he asked.