The Education Ministry has attributed some of the challenges in the 2026 Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) exercise to the high demand for Category A schools.
Press Secretary to the Education Minister, Hashmin Mohammed, said 313,283 candidates selected Category A schools as their first choice, despite only 76,417 vacancies being available in that category.
Speaking in an interview on Monday, September 7, 2026, Mr Mohammed said the CSSPS declared a total of 859,828 vacancies across schools nationwide.
He noted that this was far more than the 604,567 qualified candidates, but the challenge arose because many candidates were competing for limited places in the most popular schools.
“The system, the CSSPS system declared a vacancy of 859,828. So if you look at the vacancy in the system, it is even far more than the number of candidates who sat for the exams.”
He said schools such as Achimota School and Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School (Presec) continued to receive exceptionally high demand.
“The declared vacancy by the heads of the schools starts at 76,417 as against the number of students who showed interest in Category A schools this year alone, which is 313,283.”
Mr Mohammed explained that candidates who could not secure their first-choice schools because of competition would be considered for their subsequent choices, provided they met the relevant requirements.
“So when you are faced with that challenge, of course, some students will not be able to be placed in their preferred school,” he said.
He maintained that the placement process operated based on the choices submitted by candidates.
Mr Mohammed also rejected claims that some candidates had been placed in schools they did not select. He said the system had been expanded this year to allow candidates to choose up to eight schools, giving it more options when processing placements.
“It is impossible for you to pass and then you will be allocated into a school you haven’t chosen because that’s why we expanded the choices.”
He therefore urged candidates and parents who believe they have been placed outside their selected schools to first check the original choices submitted before concluding that there was an error.
Mr Mohammed also confirmed that candidates who obtained a score of nine in either English Language or Mathematics are eligible to use the self-placement system.
The self-placement portal is open to candidates who were not automatically placed, allowing eligible candidates to choose from schools and programmes with available vacancies.
The 2026 CSSPS results were released on September 4, with 527,932 out of 604,567 qualified candidates successfully placed, representing 87.3%.
The placement figures show that 313,283 candidates chose Category A schools as their first choice, compared with 176,614 for Category B and 123,577 for Category C.
Category A schools declared 76,417 vacancies, while Category B had 250,366 and Category C had 468,652 vacancies.
The Education Ministry has also established placement resolution centres at the regional and national levels to assist candidates and parents with placement concerns.
The self-placement system is expected to provide an alternative for qualified candidates who were not automatically matched with a school.
