His intervention comes amid mounting concern over the number of candidates who failed to secure placement during the initial 2026 exercise. The Ministry of Education has announced that 54,985 Basic Education Certificate Examination candidates who were not placed can now use the self placement process to select Senior High Schools with available vacancies.
Dr Adutwum, however, questioned whether the existing architecture of the placement platform was sufficiently equipped to accommodate all affected candidates. He warned that if the software had already classified some candidates as ineligible for placement, those students could still encounter difficulties when they attempted to search for schools with available spaces.
He therefore urged the authorities and software developers responsible for the system to undertake the necessary modifications so that every qualified candidate can properly access the vacancies made available through self placement. In his view, the challenge goes beyond simply opening the platform and requires a fundamental examination of how eligibility is determined and processed.
The former Education Minister also questioned the sharp rise in the number of candidates who were not automatically placed, noting that the figure had increased from about 13,000 in 2025 to nearly 55,000 this year. He described the development as a matter requiring serious scrutiny, particularly because of its potential implications for children from rural and disadvantaged communities.
Dr Adutwum further recalled that the Free Senior High School policy was introduced partly to dismantle the previous cutoff arrangement, which he said prevented approximately 100,000 young people from progressing to secondary education every year.
According to him, a rigid cutoff mechanism could disproportionately disadvantage children from deprived and rural communities because such students may not have access to the same educational resources, learning environments and preparation opportunities available to their counterparts in urban centres.
He consequently argued that the current placement challenge should be examined within the broader objective of ensuring equitable access to second cycle education rather than being treated solely as a technical problem involving the allocation of available school spaces.
The controversy has also drawn attention to the intense competition for highly sought after Category A schools. The Education Ministry has indicated that 313,283 candidates selected Category A institutions as their first choice, despite only 76,417 vacancies being available within those schools.
Meanwhile, the Conference of Heads of Private Second Cycle Schools has stated that its accredited member institutions have the capacity to absorb candidates who were not placed in public Senior High Schools. The organisation has subsequently published a list of private schools in good standing to provide affected families with additional options.
The latest concerns have therefore intensified calls for a broader review of the placement framework, with Dr Adutwum insisting that the system must be structured in a manner that prevents qualified candidates from being inadvertently shut out of available educational opportunities.
