Kofi Asare, Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, has explained that the ongoing confusion surrounding the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) is not due to a lack of available spaces, but rather a gap between student and parent expectations and the resources currently available.

Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV on Saturday, September 27, 2025, Mr. Asare noted that while the government has sufficient capacity to accommodate all qualified candidates, the high demand for top-tier schools far exceeds supply.

“The problems are not entirely new apart from one which is new, a problem that was resolved in the past, I don’t know how it resurfaced this year. But generally the issues relating to parents’ resentments to schools that the computer placed them are normal and they are going to be with us so far as we have inadequate resources as a lower-middle-income country,” he noted.

Mr. Asare clarified that all approximately 590,000 students who qualified for Senior High School placement can be enrolled. However, the challenge lies in parental and student preferences.

“The government of Ghana has adequate spaces to accommodate all 590k or so candidates who have qualified for placement. What the Government of Ghana does not have is the taste of all the 590k students. So there will definitely be some dis-equilibrium between the expectation of candidates, parents on one side and government’s ability to provide education to their taste,” he said.

Despite Ghana having over 700 Senior High Schools nationwide, most students and parents concentrate on fewer than 100 Category A and B schools, intensifying competition.

“Everybody wants to attend a good Category A and Category B school. You have about 700 plus Senior High Schools and then you have people chasing about 100 schools. So these issues will continue to emerge so far as there are resource deficits,” he said.

Mr. Asare stressed that until Ghana bridges the infrastructure and resource gap in education, tensions and dissatisfaction over school placements will persist.