Category A and B placement on sale but GES says school placement is free. Whoos selling the placements from the GES and allied agencies of government.
The Ghana Education Service (GES) has once again taken a firm stand, issuing a press release dated September 25, 2025, to declare that the Senior High School placement process is “absolutely free.” However, for countless anxious parents across the nation, this official declaration clashes with a starkly different reality playing out in WhatsApp groups and quiet phone calls: a thriving black market where money, not just merit, appears to be the key to securing a spot in a top school.
The Official Stance: Not a Cedi Should be Paid
In its latest communication, the GES, through its Head of Public Relations, Daniel Fenyi, has been unequivocal. “The GES wishes to categorically state that the school placement exercise is absolutely free of charge,” the statement reads. The service strongly advises parents and guardians not to pay any individual or group for placement into any Senior High School or TVET institution.
The official process, the GES maintains, is transparent and relies on the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) portal and designated Resolution Centres. The service is urging anyone who is solicited for money to report the incident immediately to the GES or the nearest Police Station. The message is clear: the system is fair, merit-based, and free for all qualified candidates.
The Reality on the Ground: Category A and B placement on sale in a Monetized System
Despite the GES’s firm position, a parallel system appears to be operating just beneath the surface. For parents with the financial means, “School Placement sellers” have become the unofficial solution to a disappointing placement result. The ongoing 2025 school placement has effectively been monetized under the watch of the very authorities who claim it is free.
This shadow market thrives on the desperation of parents whose children, despite excellent grades, are not placed in their preferred Category A and B schools. The prevailing belief is that the official “Resolution Centre” is slow and often fruitless, while a well-placed “protocol” payment can get a placement changed in a matter of days.
Consider the dilemma of a parent whose ward scored an aggregate of 9 but was placed in their sixth-choice school. While the GES advises them to use the official channels, they hear from neighbours and friends about agents who, for a fee, can navigate the “regis system using a person at the GES office” to secure a spot at a top-tier school.
This creates a two-tiered system: one for those who follow the official, free process and hope for the best, and another for those who can afford to pay for a more desirable outcome. The GES’s expectation that parents will not pay for placement seems to ignore the immense pressure and high stakes involved in securing an education at a prestigious institution.
READ: 2025 SHS/TVET School Placement Released
As long as the demand for elite schools far outstrips the available slots, and a perception exists that the system can be influenced by money, the market for “protocol” placements is likely to continue, leaving the GES’s “absolutely free” mantra ringing hollow for many.
