Govt to provide structures for schools facing admission challenges

The government is providing temporary structures for schools facing admission challenges to enable them to admit students who have been placed by the Computerised Schools Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) in those schools.

It has, therefore, assured all parents, guardians and school authorities that the challenges confronting the affected schools will be solved by the end of this month.

Meanwhile, the Ghana Education Service (GES) has directed the heads of the schools to manage the situation as the government continues to take measures to provide permanent solutions for the problem.

Accommodation challenges

Speaking to the Daily Graphic in an interview in Accra on Monday concerning measures that the government was taking to solve the accommodation challenges in some top schools, the acting Head of Public Affairs at the GES, Reverend Jonathan Bettey, said the challenge would be solved soon.

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He, however, did not give any specific amount that the government would spend to provide the temporary structures; nor was he able to give an indication of the specific number of schools that would benefit from the emergency programme.

He called on parents of the affected students and the school authorities to bear with the GES as urgent steps were being taken to normalise the situation.

Increased number

He also appealed to the affected schools to endeavour to cope with the increased number of students placed in their schools by the CSSPS.

Rev. Bettey said contractors were accessing the work to be done but the government had already provided the necessary building materials for the affected schools to enable the contractors to start work.

He also said as a long-term measure, the government would renovate all abandoned or dilapidated school structures to provide additional infrastructure for them.

He said when the four-year system was changed to three years, most of the schools abandoned some classrooms and dormitories and so all those facilities were currently being renovated to ensure accommodation for more students.

Challenges

Some of the well-endowed schools, especially those in the Central Region, have encountered problems because the CSSPS has given them more students than their facilities can cater for.

Last week, scores of students who were placed in the Wesley Girls’ High School (WGHS) in Cape Coast and other top senior high schools by the CSSPS were denied admission because of lack of accommodation.

Some parents who went to the school with their children to complete their admission processes returned home with their children. Other parents who were still hopeful that there would be a way out remained in the school waiting to see the school authorities.