Errors in Computerised Placement System eliminated

Page 11
August 8, 2009


ERRORS that are associated with the smooth placement of qualified Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) into senior high schools under the Computerised Schools Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) have been eliminated.
The errors which were made by candidates during registration have resulted in male students being sent to female schools and vice versa, selection of wrong codes leading to students being sent to schools they did not intend choosing, assigning candidates wrong programmes, among other things.
For instance, after the second round of placements in 2007, about 17,000 candidates were unplaced as a result of errors in selecting their programmes, school codes and sexes.
“The errors brought about huge costs on the Ghana Education Service (GES) as we had to spend time and money to correct them. I am, however, happy that this is over,” the Co-ordinator of the CSSPS, Mr Andrew Akuoko, told the Daily Graphic in an interview in Accra.
He said the errors were eliminated following a collaboration between the GES and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to introduce the computer registration (Batch Registration) which ensure that the data or information provided by candidates were accurate.
Under the Batch Registration, he said “the computer would, for instance, reject a male candidate who mistakenly chose a girls’ school”, adding that the computer would also reject the entry of a candidate who chose a programme that was not offered as well as reject the entry of a candidate who chose the wrong code for a school they wanted.
Mr Akuoko said the issues outlined were some of the problems that affected the smooth operation of the placement exercise under the CCSPS.
With the problem of the errors addressed, he said the next challenge was candidates accepting senior high schools they (candidates) themselves chose and were placed in.
“We have put in place all the necessary measures to ensure that the placement exercise is smooth this year,” he said, and urged all to accept the schools they chose and were placed in.
Mr Akuoko said every senior high school had a potential, and that the issue of performance rested on the students themselves and not on the schools they attended.
He said candidates should make the best use of facilities in the schools they had been sent to and not depend on what their peers would tell them, saying that “they must focus on their education since placement is done on merit”.
He said the new system introduced, under which schools were categorised, would ease the pressure on the few schools everybody was chasing.
The GES last year instituted measures to address bottlenecks associated with the CSSPS to make it more efficient and reliable.
Among the measures is the categorisation of senior high schools into seven groups to make selection easy and ease pressure on the so-called "endowed schools" and the increase in the number of schools chosen by students from three to six to enhance their chances of placement.
During the first placement exercise in 2005, 151,016 out of a total 177,070 qualified candidates were placed in senior high and technical schools. Four thousand candidates deferred their placements.
In 2006, 308,379 BECE candidates registered with 160,119 qualifying for placement. A total of 145,961 candidates were placed and 3,031 deferred their placement.
More than 188,881 candidates were placed in 2007, while about 179,000 were placed in last year.
The CSSPS was introduced in 2005 to replace manual selection process which was said to be cumbersome. There were also allegations of corruption and favouritism under that system. The CSSPS aims at promoting efficiency, transparency, fairness, equity, speed, among other things, in the selection process.
Meanwhile, barring any unforeseen circumstances, this year’s BECE results would be released this week, sources at WAEC have hinted.