Thousands of first-year students are expected to report to Senior High Schools (SHSs) and Senior High Technical Schools (SHTS) across the country today, September 18, 2026, to begin the 2026/2027 academic year.
The reporting date comes after weeks of uncertainty for some parents and students over the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS), with several candidates facing difficulties securing or confirming their placements.
The Education Ministry last week extended the placement exercise by one week to give students with outstanding cases more time to secure schools before the reporting date. Resolution centres were also kept open to deal with unresolved cases.
As of September 14, the Ministry said 33,726 of the 53,887 candidates eligible for self-placement had successfully secured places, while the CSSPS Secretariat had resolved 4,531 of 9,948 cases reported at resolution centres.
The challenges reported by parents and students included changes from boarding to day status, school and programme concerns, school distance, separation of twins and other placement discrepancies.
Some resolution centres, including the GNAT Hall in Accra and KTI Hall in Kumasi, recorded heavy crowds as parents sought assistance.
The GES, however, said about 95 percent of students seeking admission had already been placed, with 527,000 students automatically placed this year compared with 483,000 in 2025 and 447,000 in 2024.
The Education Ministry has also announced plans to establish a Technical Working Committee to review the CSSPS after the current exercise, following concerns over the effectiveness and transparency of the placement process.
Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu had earlier indicated that the government could consider extending the reporting deadline if outstanding placement issues were not resolved.
He subsequently assured parents and students that efforts were being made to address the remaining challenges before schools reopen.
For many freshers, therefore, today’s reopening marks the beginning of their long-awaited SHS journey, but for others, the first day could come with continued uncertainty as they await resolution of their placement concerns.
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