85 private SHSs join free SHS to ease pressure on public schools – Dr. Apaak

The government has expanded the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) Programme to include 85 private Senior High Schools (SHSs) for the 2026/2027 academic year as part of efforts to create more placement opportunities for qualified students.

Deputy Minister for Education, Dr. Clement Abas Apaak, said the initiative is aimed at leveraging existing capacity within the private education sector to expand access to secondary education and ease pressure on highly subscribed public schools.

Dr. Apaak announced this at a press briefing on the release of the 2026 Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) results.

“Government is also broadening the opportunities available to candidates by leveraging existing capacity within the private education sector,” Dr. Apaak said.

“For the 2026/2027 academic year, 85 private Senior High Schools are participating in the Free SHS Programme.”

According to the Education Ministry, the participation of the 85 private schools will provide additional options for candidates going through the placement process while helping to utilise existing educational infrastructure.

“The participation of these 85 private schools provides additional options for candidates through the placement system and forms part of the Government’s strategy to expand access, utilize available educational infrastructure, and reduce pressure on highly subscribed public schools,” Dr. Apaak said.

Candidates undertaking self-placement have consequently been encouraged to consider the participating private SHSs alongside available public SHSs, Senior High Technical Schools (SHTSs) and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions.

The move comes against the backdrop of significant demand for highly subscribed Category A schools during the 2026 placement exercise.

According to the Ministry, 313,283 candidates selected Category A schools as their first choice, compared with 176,614 candidates who selected Category B schools and 123,577 who selected Category C schools. A total of 995 candidates selected participating private SHSs/SHTSs.

At the same time, the placement system recorded 859,828 declared vacancies across the secondary education system. Category A schools had 76,417 declared vacancies, compared with 250,366 in Category B schools and 468,652 in Category C schools.

The Ministry, therefore, attributed some of the difficulties with automatic placement to the concentration of demand in a limited number of highly subscribed schools.

“The issue, therefore, is not simply the availability of spaces in our secondary education system. It is largely a mismatch between where vacancies exist and where candidates most strongly prefer to be placed,” Dr. Apaak said.

The 2026 placement exercise has so far placed 527,932 candidates out of the 604,567 who qualified for admission into Senior High Schools, Senior High Technical Schools and Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions.

The figure represents approximately 87.3 percent of qualified candidates.

Candidates who were not automatically matched with their original choices have been advised to use the self-placement portal to select from institutions and programmes with available vacancies.

Parents and guardians have also been advised to help candidates consider schools based on available vacancies, programmes, location and their educational needs rather than focusing exclusively on traditionally highly subscribed schools.

The government says the broader objective is to ensure that more young people can access secondary education while reducing pressure on schools where demand significantly exceeds available spaces.

Dr. Apaak urged candidates to take advantage of the wider opportunities available through the placement system, including the participating private SHSs.

Candidates have also been reminded that school placement is free and that no payment should be made to any individual in exchange for securing or changing a placement.