SHS Placement: Category A demand far exceeds available vacancies – Dr. Apaak

Deputy Education Minister Dr. Clement Apaak has explained that demand for Category A schools far exceeds available vacancies for first-year Senior High School students.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, September 7, Dr Apaak explained that the challenge facing some candidates in securing automatic placement was largely due to a mismatch between demand and available spaces.

He said 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 chose Category C institutions.

According to Dr Apaak, only 76,417 vacancies were declared in Category A schools, despite the significantly higher number of candidates seeking admission into the institutions.

“While 313,283 candidates expressed a first preference for Category A schools, the declared vacancies in those schools stood at 76,417,” he said.

He noted that the overall placement system had 859,828 declared vacancies, including 250,366 in Category B schools and 468,652 in Category C schools.

Dr Apaak said the figures demonstrate that the difficulty in securing placement is not necessarily caused by a shortage of spaces within the secondary education system.

“The issue, therefore, is not simply the availability of spaces in our secondary education system,” he said.

“It is largely a mismatch between where vacancies exist and where candidates most strongly prefer to be placed.”

He explained that the concentration of first-choice selections in Category A schools had created intense competition for the limited spaces available in those institutions.

The Deputy Education Minister said this mismatch also explains why some candidates who qualify for secondary education may not secure their preferred school or programme.

“This explains why a candidate may qualify for secondary education but not necessarily secure their preferred school or programme,” he said.

The 2026 placement exercise saw 604,567 candidates qualify for placement into Senior High Schools, Senior High Technical Schools and technical and vocational institutions.

Of that number, 527,932 candidates, representing approximately 87.3 percent, have been successfully placed.

Dr Apaak said candidates who were not automatically matched with their choices should consider the self-placement system and available schools rather than focusing exclusively on highly subscribed institutions.

The Ministry has also made 85 private Senior High Schools participating in the Free SHS programme available as additional options for candidates.

Placement resolution centres have been established at regional and national levels to assist parents and candidates facing challenges with the exercise.