The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called on the government to urgently provide actual school and training opportunities for thousands of Ghanaian students affected by this year’s BECE and WASSCE outcomes.
According to the NPP, 54,985 candidates who sat the BECE were initially informed that they had not qualified for secondary school, with government subsequently announcing that 53,887 candidates could undertake self-placement online.
In a statement signed by Chairman of the NPP Policy Co-ordination Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the party argues that opening a self-placement portal does not amount to providing a school place, warning that many candidates could be left with limited options, including schools far from home, unwanted programmes and additional transportation or accommodation costs.
The party says government’s own figures indicate that the country has 859,828 vacancies for 623,072 BECE candidates, suggesting that the broader challenge is not a shortage of places but the concentration of demand in a limited number of Category A schools.
The statement notes that 313,283 candidates selected Category A schools as their first choice, while those schools have only 76,417 seats.
The party is also raising concerns about 183,233 young people who completed secondary school without a credit in Core Mathematics, which it says could restrict access to many university degree programmes, training opportunities and jobs.
The NPP further criticised this year’s WASSCE performance in English Language and Core Mathematics, saying both subjects remain below their 2024 levels.
The party in the statement rejected stricter invigilation as a sufficient explanation for poor results, arguing that student performance is influenced by teaching, learning time, educational materials, attendance and support.
To address the situation, the party is urging government to utilise the 85 private schools already participating in the Free SHS programme and improve facilities and staffing in schools with unused capacity.
For the WASSCE graduates, the NPP wants government to publish available opportunities in TVET, apprenticeships and job training programmes across the regions and match those opportunities against the 183,233 school leavers who require an alternative pathway.
The party is therefore demanding proactive action to protect the educational and employment prospects of what it describes as more than 200,000 stranded Ghanaian young people.
Ghana|Atinkaonline.com|Vincent Kwofie.
