The Free Senior High School (SHS) Secretariat has denied all allegations of bribery taking place at the Placement Resolution Centre at the Kumasi Technical Institute (KTI), emphasizing to parents and students alike that the procedure to rectify school placement issues is completely free of charge. Editorial Standards
The Deputy Ashanti Regional Coordinator for the Free SHS Secretariat, Michael Owusu Baafi, gave this assurance to parents and students amid claims that some individuals at the centre are extorting monies from parents before looking into their placements under the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS).
Speaking about the issue, Mr Baafi rebuffed the claims and warned parents and students alike to avoid parting with any money to whoever tells them they can facilitate or alter their school placements.
According to him, no parent would have to cough up a fee to get his or her school placement issues resolved at the resolution centre. He stated that, school placements by the Ghana Education Service (GES) is free of charge to students and parents and not paid for by way of fees.
We don’t take money here. If you give any money to anybody, it’s at your own peril. We are admitting students for free, the Deputy Ashanti Regional Coordinator stated.
This comes as students and parents continue to troop the venue to have school placement-related challenges sorted out following the 2026 CSSPS placements. Corrections Policy
There were designated tables that were managed by officials who dealt with every placement-related concern.
Mr. Baafi explained that the printing of placement sheets or other relevant documents which can be done by people outside the resolution centre are not part of the GES placement resolve processes which does not incur any fee on any candidate or parent. He said that money was being collected at the resolution tables for issues affecting the candidate’s school placement issues.
The Deputy Regional Coordinator later revealed that he had already issued warnings to parents against parting with their money with some persons to have their placement matters handled and cautioned that his officials were dealing only with issues that relate to how candidates might be placed in schools either by solving their placement problems or seeking alternative placements for students with special circumstances.
He further explained that, there was the existence of individuals working illegally on who would be placed in schools to the detriment of applicants. Mr Baafi indicated that his officers went through the candidate’s problems without asking parents for payment to be made at any level before it could get the student placed.
Mr Baafi said that though there were no additional fees, some candidates still paid some intermediary individuals some moneys and he cautioned them not to do so as this was a free placing system.
This follows revelations that, some personnel could possibly charge some students who do not know what the real protocol in securing SHS/TVET placements.
He also said that since applicants at the KTI placement resolution centre are supposed to be offered official placement resolving help, it would be prudent to leave those to trained personnel.
In view of this, Mr Baafi cautioned pupils to be careful of self-styled intermediaries that often promise placements to parents for huge amounts of cash. Editorial Ethics & Independence
He warned that if a parent decides to pay such persons, that would be at his/her own risk knowing that the entire placement process does not have a fee on its own but the printing of documents outside the center could be done by any person as that did not warrant further financial implications toward parents for getting students into schools.
The current situation of parents looking for slots in suitable senior high and technical schools further exacerbates this pressure as it provides a ground for unethical actors to capitalize on.
Authorities in education, throughout, has affirmed the use of appropriate channels when school placements become a challenge or query after candidates were placed in undesirable schools.
This is to prevent fraudulent activities in the education sector especially when more focus would have been placed on candidates through school placement for an adequate provision of secondary education.
He said students and parents need to know that the processes by the GES do not ask for any fees in terms of placing anybody in a specific school.
According to him, although people are sometimes making inquiries through him for other options, it would be unreasonable for parents to part with their cash, knowing that that money would end up not having any tangible effect.
Students who seek the assistance of officials for any reasons relating to their school placements at the KTI are required to interact with only the officially mandated service personnel since payment to some personnel would serve absolutely no purpose.
In conclusion, parents who pay or pay any money to an agent or the supposed placement service provider based on assurance from the third party will bear the cost and not have their school placement fixed based on payment as all the services rendered were for free.