Former Member of Parliament for Manhyia North, Collins Owusu Amankwah, has accused President John Dramani Mahama of deliberately assigning Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu to a difficult portfolio without providing the support needed to address challenges confronting the sector.
According to him, the difficulties surrounding the 2026 Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) raise questions about whether the Education Minister is receiving adequate support from government.
“What is happening in the education system, I don’t want to believe that Mahama deliberately put Haruna Iddrisu in that ministry,” he said.
Speaking in an interview on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen, Mr Owusu Amankwah expressed concern over the challenges surrounding the current school placement exercise, describing the situation as a regression from the objectives of the CSSPS.
“The CSSPS was carefully thought through to help avoid such placement issues. What is happening? We are back to square one,” he stated.
He questioned the decision to allow some parents and candidates to pursue alternative placement arrangements after the computerised system had been introduced to streamline the process.
“Parents are now going to placement centres for their wards to be placed in schools. Now they say they want to do self-placement. Then what is the essence of the CSSPS?” he asked.
Mr Owusu Amankwah argued that the development undermines the rationale behind allowing candidates to select their preferred schools before writing their examinations.
He called for the government to strengthen the merit-based placement system, saying it offers a better avenue for ensuring fairness and transparency.
“We need to build on the merit-based placement system. At least it can bring some form of fairness and transparency,” he said.
He also raised concerns about the emotional impact of the placement challenges on students and their families, arguing that much of the current distress could have been prevented through better planning and implementation.
“The psychological trauma that the children are going through now could have been avoided,” he stated.
The former MP stressed the importance of education to Ghana’s development and urged policymakers to make the wellbeing and future of students the priority in resolving the placement challenges.
“Education is key to development, so we should make sure the children’s future wellbeing is our priority,” he said.
Mr Owusu Amankwah further called for consistency and fairness in the implementation of education policies, urging the government to avoid what he described as selective approaches to justice.
“We should be particular about education and not be doing selective justice. It should be justice for all,” he added.
The 2026 CSSPS exercise has generated widespread concerns among parents, students and other stakeholders, with the Education Ministry announcing measures to review aspects of the process amid complaints about transparency, fairness and access to placement.
Data released by the Ministry indicates that 527,932 out of 604,567 qualified candidates had been successfully placed, representing 87.3 percent, while 54,985 candidates did not qualify for placement.
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