Deputy Co-ordinator for the Free Senior High School (SHS), Nana Sika Mensah, has dispelled notions that prospective SHS students were placed randomly in schools of their choice, thereby denying others access to their schools of choice.

This comes on the back of complaints by some parents that their wards despite having better aggregates than others, were not placed in any of the schools of their choice and left hanging while the placement system favoured.

Speaking to Class News’ Jessica Akuah Ampim, Friday, 17 February 2023, the Deputy Co-ordinator for the free SHS explained that: “We deal with systems when we run the system. We place you based on your merit, the auto system is based on merit. So when it’s given to you, that’s what we do, but when it doesn’t happen like that, that’s where we do the self-placement. You go and do the self-placement so you choose the school for yourself.

“We give out names of schools depending on the spaces available for the day. So if we have spaces in the school, we give it out so that you choose those schools and we go and work it out for you. But if there’s no spaces in school, it’s full up, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

She urged parents to remain calm as there are enough schools to accommodate all prospective SHS students.  

“The vacancy can accommodate everybody, those who have not been placed so they should calm down, they’ll all go to school," she assured. 

She further cautioned parents against paying persons to have their wards placed in schools as the exercise is entirely free.

“I want to caution all parents that this exercise or this activity that we’re doing is basically for free. They are not supposed to pay a dime to anybody.

“It’s free of charge and we’re not paying anything so they  shouldn’t pay money to perpetrators or whoever will come to them that they can get them placement in their school of choice or anything, it’s free and we’re not paying anything.”