The Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS) has called on the government to urgently activate an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with private schools to provide Senior High School (SHS) placements for 54,985 candidates who were not placed through the Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS).
According to GNACOPS, the number of candidates who sat for the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) but did not qualify for placement into SHS represents an urgent national concern that requires immediate intervention.
In a statement issued on Thursday, September 3, 2026, the Council said behind the figure of 54,985 candidates are young people whose educational progression could be disrupted if alternative arrangements are not made.
“GNACOPS considers this a matter of urgent national concern. Behind every one of these figures is a child whose academic journey now stands at risk of stalling—and a family whose hopes rest on that child’s continued education,” the statement said.
The Council said Ghana can not afford to leave nearly 55,000 young people without a pathway to continue their secondary education.
GNACOPS said 85 private Senior High Schools currently operating under the Free SHS policy through an existing agreement with the government have vacancies and the capacity to absorb the affected candidates.
It therefore urged the Ministry of Education to activate and expand the use of the existing MoU instead of initiating a new negotiation process.
The Council said the existing arrangement already provides the necessary framework and infrastructure to address the placement challenge.
“Rather than requiring a new negotiation, this calls for government to activate and expand utilization of the existing MoU without delay,” it stated.
GNACOPS said its member institutions are prepared to admit affected candidates into accredited private SHS programmes across the country and provide them with the academic support needed to bridge learning gaps.
The schools, according to the Council, are also prepared to provide structured remedial and bridging programmes to strengthen students’ foundational knowledge ahead of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
They would further provide quality-assured instruction aimed at improving students’ academic performance and guide successful candidates towards tertiary education and other forms of post-secondary progression.
GNACOPS argued that the private schools already participating in the Free SHS programme had demonstrated their capacity, infrastructure and academic expertise to support the affected candidates.
The Council maintained that the immediate challenge is therefore not the absence of infrastructure or the need for a new policy framework, but the government’s willingness to utilise an arrangement that is already in place.
“What is needed now is not a new agreement, but the political will to direct these candidates to the vacancies that already exist within the partnership,” the statement said.
The Council warned that delays could have long-term consequences for the affected students, stressing that time lost in education could not easily be recovered.
“Every academic year that passes without a resolution represents lost time that cannot be recovered for these students,” it said.
The Council said it is ready to mobilise its member schools immediately once the government gives the necessary directive.
It proposed working closely with the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the CSSPS to develop and implement arrangements that would ensure the affected candidates were absorbed into appropriate schools.
GNACOPS said such collaboration would help prevent placement constraints within the public-school system from denying thousands of qualified young people the opportunity to continue their education.
The Council has therefore called for an urgent meeting with the Minister of Education and other relevant stakeholders to finalise the modalities for absorbing the affected candidates under the existing government-private school collaboration.
GNACOPS said it remained committed to supporting the government in ensuring that no candidate is left behind because of limitations in the public-school placement system.
The Council’s position comes after the CSSPS announced that 54,985 candidates from the 2026 BECE cohort had not secured placement into SHS.
GNACOPS believes the vacancies available in participating private schools provide an immediate opportunity to address the situation while ensuring that affected students remain on track with their secondary education.
By 1960news.com
