Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has criticised the former Education Minister Yaw Osei Adutwum over his comments pertaining to the 2026 Computerised School Selection Placement System (CSSPS) challenges.
Speaking in an exclusive interview on TV3 New Day’s The Big Issue, Friday, September 11, he said the former Minister is proffering solutions now that he is no more in office than he did while he served as Minister.
“For the placement system, we inherited it anyway. I have heard comments from Minister Adutwum, former Minister for Education who seem to have better solutions outside government than when he was at the seat as Minister for Education,” he stated.
Mr Iddrisu said the government inherited the existing placement system and acknowledged that the country continues to face significant challenges in placing qualified students into their preferred schools.
He was responding to comments by Dr Adutwum, who has reportedly suggested that the current administration should seek his advice on how to address the placement difficulties.
“If he did it better, then why are we here? We would not have been struggling for placement,” Mr Iddrisu said.
The Education Minister said the scale of the problem made it difficult for any administration to immediately resolve the mismatch between students’ preferences and available spaces.
He cited figures from the 2026 placement exercise, saying about 328,000 students selected Category A schools, while only 76,000 vacancies were available in those institutions.
“Show me any minister, including Dr Adutwum, who can fix that problem by placing 313,000 in 76,000 vacancies. You have a miracle to do that,” he said.
Mr Iddrisu stressed that the government was aware of the challenge and was working to address it, urging stakeholders to acknowledge the structural limitations within the placement system.
He questioned the usefulness of Dr Adutwum’s offer of advice, given that he previously served as Education Minister and was responsible for the system under the previous administration.
“So, when he says come to me for advice, what advice?” Mr Iddrisu asked.
