The Computerized Schools Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) has disclosed that there is nothing like a general cut off point for students wanting to enter Senior High Schools (SHS) in the country.
According to the CSSPS, the cut-off points vary according to the various Senior High Schools students want to enter.
The National Coordinator of the CSSPS, Mark Sasu-Mensah speaking in an interview on Happy 98.9 FM’s ‘Epa Hoa Daben’ political talk show said, “Every school has a cut-off point and it also varies per the programmes they offer. This is because the performance in one school may not be the same as the other.”
Explaining what he meant by the performance he noted that the performances of students who choose school A may be better than school B and this leads school A to peg its cut-off point at a higher grade whilst the opposite happens at school B.
He noted that one’s performance and programme choice can also determine the cut-off point for that student. “One student can select the General Science program for Wesley Girls SHS and score (Seven) 7 one’s but will not be placed in the school. Another girl will choose Home Economics and score aggregate eighteen (18) but will be admitted to Wesley Girls SHS.
This may happen because the competition for the science program was tough and the school set their cut-off point at 7 one’s whilst the competition to enter the Home Economics was low, hence a girl with the lower grade being selected over one with a higher grade.”
“The school declares their vacancies, student performances determine the cut-off point for every school and it is also determined from programme to programme. We don’t set cut-off points and say in this year, our cut off point is 20 or 30,” he emphasized.
Making the system more clear, he furthered that the Mangoase Senior High School (SHS) last year declare 1,200 vacancies for students and received only 900 applications. “In essence, every student who chose Mangoase SHS that year got the school. That means there is no cut-off point for them.”
Talking about the situation at the Achimota SHS the same year, he stated, “Over 1800 students chose Achimota SHS but the school declared a vacancy of 900 students. So in such a situation, there is a cut-off point for Achimota SHS. So you cannot determine for the cut-off point. The cut-off point is determined by competition.”
Students of the various Junior High Schools in the country are sitting for their exit exams today to transition them to the Senior High Schools.
The Computerized School Selection and Placement System is an automated merit-based computerized system which has replaced the laborious Manual System of Selection and Placement (MSSP) of qualified BECE candidates into the second cycle (Senior High Schools and Technical/Vocational) institutions in Ghana.
The CSSPS was introduced in 2005 as part of the Ministry of Education (MOE) and Ghana Education Service (GES) grand plan of programs and interventions intended to expand access and improve the quality of education through teaching and learning as well as curricular development.
By: Joel Sanco