The government has opened an alternative pathway for 57,259 candidates whose 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results did not qualify them for automatic placement into senior high school.
Deputy Minister of Education, Dr Clement Apaak, announced at a press briefing on Monday, September 7, 2026, that candidates who obtained a grade 9 in either English Language or Mathematics, or in both subjects, would be allowed to use the self-placement system to select schools and programmes with available vacancies.
The 57,259 candidates comprise 3,372 who registered but did not sit the examination, 35,382 who obtained a grade 9 in either English Language or Mathematics, and 18,505 who obtained a grade 9 in both subjects.
Dr Apaak said the government had deliberately chosen to provide the affected candidates with another opportunity to continue their education rather than leave them without a pathway.
“Government has taken a deliberate decision to ensure that these young people are provided with an appropriate pathway to continue their education,” he said.
He urged affected candidates and their parents not to lose hope but to take advantage of the self-placement option and consider schools and programmes with available vacancies.
For the 2026/27 academic year, 85 private senior high schools are also participating in the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme, giving candidates additional options through the placement system.
Dr Apaak said the participation of the private schools formed part of government’s strategy to expand access, make use of available educational infrastructure and ease pressure on highly subscribed public schools.
Candidates undertaking self-placement, he said, should therefore consider participating private SHSs alongside available public SHSs, SHTSs and technical and vocational institutions.
The Deputy Minister also dismissed claims that the affected candidates were being deliberately excluded from the Free SHS programme.
“The narrative as twisted as it is out there that somehow government through the ministry is deliberately preventing this 57 from getting placed as part of an effort quote unquote to collapse the Free Senior High School programme is untrue,” he said.
“So while they may have scored nine in English and math or both we are still giving them a lifeline through the self-placement system,” he added.
However, candidates who did not sit the examination were told that they may have to wait until the next academic year if they need to rewrite the BECE before proceeding to senior high school.
The Ministry also announced the establishment of placement resolution centres in Accra and at the regional level to address complaints and discrepancies arising from the exercise.
According to the Coordinator of the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS), the decentralisation is intended to prevent the congestion that has characterised placement resolution centres in previous years.
He said call centres had also been established so candidates and parents could resolve placement-related concerns without travelling long distances to physical centres.
“Just sit at the comfort of your home, call through the call centre, give them your issues, and those issues will be resolved throughout the year,” he said.
The Ministry has meanwhile reiterated that the placement process is free and cautioned parents and candidates against paying money to intermediaries or individuals claiming to have influence over placements.
