The Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare, has advised parents to adjust their expectations regarding the 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) placement process.
Hundreds of parents and students gathered at the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) Hall in Accra, expressing frustration over misplaced postings and unfulfilled school choices.
According to Mr. Asare, the country has sufficient space to absorb the 590,000 candidates who sat for this year’s BECE. However, the issue lies in competition over popular schools and programmes.
“The resolution starts with parents, because we have more spaces in schools than we actually need… But the issue is that while the country has spaces in our secondary schools, the spaces do not meet the full expectations, tastes and choices of parents and, by extension, the candidates,” he said.
Mr. Asare emphasised that school placement is not an absolute right, but rather a merit-based system. “One of the challenges is the over-democratisation of school placement, where you are told that you have the right to choose. But that is not absolute. It is relative within a merit-based system,” he explained.
He added that parents should understand that equitable access to education requires embracing all schools across categories, rather than fixating on a handful of popular institutions. “So, parents should understand that it is not possible for any government to serve them with the choice of their school for their wards. The only way we can ensure equitable access to second-cycle school is to ensure that all schools, regardless of their categories, are patronised by parents,” he stressed.
