The Minority Leader, Hon Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin has called for an urgent retooling, restructuring and redevelopment of the nation’s education system saying a serious national conversation should be had before it collapses.
The Leader weighed in on the recent controversies surrounding the Computerized Schools Selection Placement System(CSSPS) and the results of the 2026 WASSCE.
More than 54,000 students who wrote the 2026 BECE have been asked to do self placements while more than 180,000 students failed English and another 200, 000 failed Mathematics in the 2026 WASSCE.
He painted a gloomy picture and called for government’s intervention to fix the various loopholes creating dysfunctions in the system.
One of the key concerns he raised is the ongoing CSSPS which has gained traction in the news.
The current process has seen parents massing up at resolution centres across the country to resolve issues concerning the schools their wards were placed in.
Afenyo-Markin said the situation is dire and presents the system as weak.
“At the same time, nearly 55,000 BECE candidates were initially denied automatic placement. We are hearing reports of children wrongly placed in special schools and others arriving at their assigned schools only to find no space.
Yet government’s own figures show 859,828 vacancies for 623,072 candidates, while 85 private schools participating in Free SHS also have capacity. A self-placement portal is not a school place; every child needs an actual seat in a functioning classroom,” he said in a Facebook post.
He called on the government to be proactive in handling such issues telling it to make public the final placement outcomes while explaining the rules that govern the system and the pass marks applied.
On the number of Senior High School Students (SHS) who failed both English and Mathematics, the leader called for a proper enhancement process to be implemented in the educational system to ensure students get the right learning materials.
He told the government to “provide clear pathways into TVET, apprenticeships and skills training for those who did not obtain the required WASSCE credit.”
He listed teacher motivation, the availability of good learning materials and the proper funding to resource Senior schools in the country as some of the pathways to improve the sector.
“Ghana urgently needs an honest national conversation about educational funding, teaching quality, contact hours, teacher motivation, learning materials, infrastructure and supervision.”
He added: “This must rise above partisan excuses because the future of an entire generation is at stake.”
He stated that the time for action is now and called on the
President to act.
“Mr President, parents are worried, children are anxious and teachers are under pressure. When our children’s education is in crisis, Ghana’s future is in danger. The time to act is now,” he warned.