Ghana’s private schools call for scrapping 15% quota in senior high school placement system
In Ghana, the Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) has called for the complete abolition of the 15% priority placement quota for students entering senior high schools (SHS). The association believes that this mechanism gives students from public basic schools an advantage when they are placed in their preferred institutions at the next level of education, MyJoyOnline reports.
Private schools’ position
GNAPS First Vice President Justice King Essel said that reducing the share of priority placements from 30% to 15% does not address private schools’ concerns. According to him, access to senior high school placement should be based on equal opportunities rather than on the type of basic school a child attended.
Essel noted that the priority placement system was initially introduced to improve access for students from disadvantaged communities to schools within or near their communities. At the same time, he called problematic an approach under which disadvantage is determined primarily by whether a child attends a public or private school.
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Association’s arguments
The GNAPS representative stressed that some private schools also operate in disadvantaged communities and under difficult conditions. In his view, such schools should not be excluded from policies aimed at supporting students in vulnerable situations.
According to Essel, the priority quota may encourage parents to transfer their children from private to public schools in the hope of better placement opportunities. He warned that a decline in student numbers could make it difficult for private institutions to pay teachers’ salaries and cover operating costs, especially schools with relatively low tuition fees.
GNAPS called on the government to review the current arrangement and introduce a system that treats students from public and private basic schools fairly.
