Haruna Iddrisu, Education Minister
The Ministry of Education has announced the inclusion of 25 private senior high schools (SHSs) in the 2025 school selection process under the Free SHS programme.
This marks the first time that private schools have been added to the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS), offering candidates a wider range of choices for their second-cycle education.
The newly approved schools, listed under Category E, are co-educational day schools located in all 16 regions of the country.
According to the Ministry, these schools offer a variety of academic programmes, including General Arts, General Science, Business, Technical, Visual Arts, Home Economics, and Agriculture.
Their inclusion is expected to help ease the growing pressure on public senior high schools, which have struggled in recent years to accommodate the large number of students under the Free SHS policy, the Ministry indicated.
For the Education Ministry, the addition of private schools is part of efforts to improve access and ensure that more qualified candidates can find spaces in senior high schools without being limited to public institutions alone.
In light of this development, the Ghana Education Service (GES) has extended the deadline for the school selection process to Wednesday, June 25, 2025.
This is to allow students and parents enough time to consider the new options and make well-informed choices.
The extension was announced in a statement signed by Prince Agyemang-Duah, Director of the Schools and Instruction Division of the GES.
These private schools will now appear on the official school selection forms for the 2025/2026 academic year, allowing candidates to select them under the new Category E classification.
The Ministry believes that including private SHSs in the school selection system will not only improve access but also help balance enrollment across both public and private schools.
The Ministry indicated that this move was expected to strengthen the Free SHS programme and provide more opportunities for students to receive quality education across the country.
By Ernest Kofi Adu