Kofi Asare, the Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, has urged parents to manage their expectations regarding the ongoing placement process for the 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). His comments came in response to the large number of parents and their children who gathered at the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) Hall in Accra on Tuesday, September 23, seeking clarification and lodging complaints about the placements. Many expressed frustration over misplaced postings, unfulfilled school choices, and difficulties accessing their preferred institutions.
During his appearance on the Citi Breakfast Show on the same day, Mr. Asare explained that although the country has enough space to accommodate all 590,000 candidates who took this year’s BECE, the issue lies in the competition for certain schools and programs. “The resolution begins with parents because we have more spaces in schools than we actually need, meaning we can absorb all 590,000 students wanting placement this year. However, while there are available spaces in our secondary schools, they do not align with the full expectations and preferences of parents and, by extension, the candidates,” he stated.
According to him, school placement cannot be treated as an absolute right but must be understood within the context of merit and competition. “One of the challenges is the over-democratisation of school placement, where you are told that you have the right to choose. But that is not absolute. It is relative within a merit-based system. You may wish to go to Labone SHS to do science, but you must also know that the school is a competitive Category B school.
“So, your chance of going there is not a matter of choosing but also making a competitive grade with respect to the course you are choosing, whether you want to be a day student or not. These two things determine the extent of competition,” he explained.
Mr. Asare added that equitable access to education requires parents to embrace all schools across categories, rather than fixating on a handful of popular institutions.
So, parents should understand that it is not possible for any government to serve them with the choice of their school for their wards. The only way we can ensure equitable access to second-cycle school is to ensure that all schools, regardless of their categories, are patronised by parents,” he stressed.
Source: William Narh
