Director of Communications for the United Party (UP), Solomon Owusu, has averred the classification of senior high schools into Category A, B and C is not a reflection of quality teaching.
According to him, the craze for Category A schools is driven by emotional attachment and old student networks, not academic superiority.
He argued that the quality of teaching in top schools is not different from what is offered in less endowed schools across the country.
While contributing to discussions on the challenges confronting this year’s Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) on TV3’s BigIssue segment on the NewDay morning show on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, Owusu noted that the craze over Category A schools is misplaced.
“It’s not about the vacancies not being available but the emotional attachments people place on various secondary schools,” he said.
He argued that, the contents of the curriculum is not based on schools but same everywhere.
“The scientific term ‘matter’, the way it is defined in Prempeh College, it is the same way it is defined in Wenchi Secondary School, St. Francis Xavier, everywhere.”
Owusu, an old student of Prempeh College, questioned what makes Category A schools special, insisting the prestige attached to these schools is created by the old students and not the academic performance per se.
“What is so special about the Category ‘A’ that we talk about? What is the prestige? It is the ‘Old Boys’ that are making it prestigious,” he stated.
He contended that results from top schools are often skewed, saying they showcase their best candidates while hiding poor performances to create the impression that all is well when it comes to academics.
“These schools that you call Category ‘A’, they present their best 200 and come and tell you that they all had 8As, what about the rest? They took about 2000 people to go and write the WASSCE. Go and check, you’ll see the ‘Fs’,” he said.
The CSSPS is the system used to place Basic Education Certificate Examination candidates into senior high schools based on their grades and school choices.
This year’s exercise has been hit by long queues and delays at resolution centres, with thousands of parents struggling to get placement issues resolved.
The Ministry of Education says the challenge is largely due to a mismatch between available vacancies and preferred schools, with most candidates competing for limited spaces in a few schools.
CSSPS deploys more staff to reduce delays at resolution centres
