The Computerized School Selection and Placement System (C.S.S.P.S.) Secretariat has actually got it wrong this year. Nothing went according to plan and their reputation is actually on the line. They have to do better next year to restore the faith parents and the general public have in them.

From my little research, W.A.E.C. released the B.E.C.E. results to the secretariat early in September and for them to take five weeks to complete the placement and another two weeks to place the result online for students to print out their forms is not good enough. They can actually do better and we hope all the mistakes they  committed this year would not be repeated next year.

How to print out Placements forms

You will need to purchase a scratch card from S.I.C, A.D.B. bank or from any post office in your neighbourhood. Go to www.myjhsresult.org and enter your index number, the serial and pin number on the scratch card and submit. Don’t forget to add ‘11’ at the end of your index number.

If you are lucky, your forms would be displaced without any sweat. If you are not so lucky, a lot of funny information like this would be shown;

“ Sorry the Index Number, Scratch Card Number/PIN Number does not exist. Please look carefully and retype. If you are very sure about it, please send email to info@csspsghana.org.”

I know you are sure about the information you submitted, the fault is not from the scratch card, its the system which is not working properly. Keep on trying until your form is shown. Don’t rush to buy a new card. I am sure they are still working on the site and probably it is jammed up. It wasn’t designed for over 200,000 candidates to visit the site at once. Just relax and try at dawn or late in the night.

Credibility of the C.S.S.P.S.

On the 10th of this month, a Non Governmental Organization, Challenging Heights petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (C.H.R.A.J), to investigate officials of the Computer Schools Selection and Placement System (C.S.S.P.S.) as it alleges of corruption in the placement process.

According to Challenging heights, it claimed it had substantial evidence to prove that officers in charge of the C.S.S.P.S. are illegally collecting monies, in order to place students in some particular Senior high schools where they would otherwise not have been placed. It also alleged that some of the officers are removing duly merited and placed candidates from their chosen schools, and placing students whose parents have paid bribes in their places.

What was their main point in this allegation, a candidate with aggregate 08 had been placed in Wesley Girls High School. But I asked my self whether it was possible.

Examine this scenario

Candidate A had aggregate 1 in BDT, GA, French, RME, Social Studies and English and aggregate 2 in Mathematics and Int. Science whilst Candidate B had aggregate 1 in Mathematics, English, Int. Science and Social Studies and also had aggregate 2 in BDT, GA, French and RME. Even though candidate A had aggregate 06 and Candidate B had 08, it is very likely Candidate B would have a higher raw score than candidate A. Reason, Candidate B had aggregate 1 in the four compulsory core subjects.

If Challenging Heights want to take this up, they should rather use the raw score of the candidates to build their case rather than the grades. No human institution is perfect. I still believe the computerized school selection and placement system is one of the best thing that happened in Ghana Education Service over the past seven years.

To restore their credibility which has been greatly damaged  because of this accusation, I would advice the C.S.S.P.S. secretariat to make the placement of candidates as transparent as possible. Placements of candidates can actually be done live on air to diffuse any doubt in the mind of parents and the general public about any malfeasance in the secretariat.

Like the National Communication Authority, the Government would have to establish an independent organization which would scrutinize and vet the algorithm that is used for the placement to ensure no strange code is inserted anywhere in it to favour any candidate.

The concept of candidates printing their placement forms online needs to be reviewed. Previously, their placement forms was sent to their respective Junior Secondary Schools,  but presently, parents spend a lot of money to check grades on the phone and also buy cards before they can print out their forms. Its making life difficult for candidates in the rural areas.