Frequently Asked Questions about School Placement

Frequently Asked Questions about SHS School Placement

1. I missed out on all my 5 choices. What do I do?

Candidates who miss out on all their choices can still have the opportunity to select schools with vacancies available through the Self-placement process described earlier.

2. Can a candidate with good grades miss out on their first, second or all of their choices?

YES. All spaces in the schools are competitively filled taking into consideration the available spaces in the school (ie. Preferred residential status and program of choice). Hence, qualified candidates are ranked from the highest score to the lowest and it will cut off when the spaces are exhausted.

They are then moved to the next school of choice to compete for space there, and the process continues further down the chain.

3. Is it possible for someone with aggregate 7 to not get access into a particular school but someone with aggregate 10 can get into the same school?

YES. Programs selected and residential status may differ from one candidate to the other. Therefore, the competition for slots may differ. For instance, in most cases, science is more competitive than other programmes and boarding are more competitive than day status.

4. A candidate with Aggregate 10 got placed on a particular programme and residential status and yet another with Aggregate 8 did not, even though he or she chose the same programme and residential status. How is this possible?

There is a protocol system that allocates 5% of a school’s declared spaces to the school for its onward allocation to its stakeholders. It is, therefore, possible for the child of an old student or a staff member of a school to get admission ahead of another child seeking admission at the same school. Other stakeholders include the missions and the traditional seats of the relevant school.

Talented children such as sports boys/girls may also be considered by a school for some of its protocol slots. Similarly, 30% of spaces in the country’s top 55 schools have been reserved for candidates from public JHS. As such, candidates from public basic schools across the country compete for the 30% space. Hence, the competition for the 60% is different from the competition for the 30%.

5. Is it possible for someone who didn’t choose a particular school get placed in that school?

NO. It is not possible during the automatic placement process. However, a candidate can get placement into a school through a protocol.

6. Can a person change school after enrolment?

NO. Placement process ends once a candidate begins the admission process by going to the school to complete the relevant form. Any movement from one school to another after enrolment is considered a transfer. A student can only transfer after one academic year.

7. Can a person change residential status or program after placement?

NO. A candidate got into a particular school on merit based on the preferred program and residential status he/she chose. A candidate competes for a slot in a particular school based on the preferences provided. Therefore, neither the residential status nor program can be changed.

8. Can I change a school I selected through self-placement?

YES. A candidate who got placed in a school through self-placement can change school on the portal once the candidate has not enrolled in a school.

9. I selected and was placed in a school that was on my list of school choices. Can I change school?

NO. You cannot change to another school if the school was part of your five choices.

10. can I be enrolled in a school when I or my Rep. is not present?

NO. For enrolment to be successful, the school will need the student’s unique ID, address details of parents or guardian and phone number. Once a candidate or parent/guardian submits their forms to the school placed, the school uses the information provided on the forms to enroll the candidate. Therefore, it is not possible for a school to get all these personal information of a candidate without the candidate or a representative being present in the school.

11. I was enrolled in a school but my name can no longer be found on their system. What can be done?

If indeed a candidate was enrolled in a particular school but the details can no longer be found on the school’s system, the head of school will formally report to the appropriate office for redress. Students should not be sent home.

12. The head of the school I want my child/ward to go to says there is space in the school? Can the child be placed there on this basis?

NO. Schools have established ways of communicating with authorities. Placement is done on the basis of the vacancies declared by the schools. Once those vacancies have been filled by the CSSPS in that school, we are unable to do any further placements in the school.