Parents camp at GNAT Hall as CSSPS placement frustrations mount

Frustration is mounting at the Greater Accra Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) Resolution Centre at the GNAT Hall, as parents and candidates continue to endure long queues and extended delays in a bid to resolve placement challenges.

Some parents have reportedly arrived at the centre as early as dawn, while others have spent the night at the facility after failing to have their concerns addressed.

One parent seeking to change his son’s placement from day to boarding said he left home at about 3 a.m. and arrived at the centre around 4 a.m.

According to him, officials began attending to parents around 8 a.m. and asked those seeking changes from day to boarding to state their reasons in writing.

“I left home as early as 3 a.m. and got here at 4 a.m. The officials started work around 8 a.m. We were asked to write our reasons for changing from day to boarding. After collecting the forms, they told us to wait.”

After submitting the required information, the parent said he and other applicants were asked to wait for further assistance.

However, after spending several hours at the centre without a resolution, they were reportedly asked to return the following day.

“I came early today and pleaded with them to attend to us. So I am still waiting,” he said.

The parent said the situation eventually forced him and his son to spend the night at the car park of the GNAT Hall.

His experience reflects the growing frustration among parents and guardians who have converged at the centre to resolve a range of CSSPS-related challenges.

Among the major issues confronting parents are requests to change students’ residential status from day to boarding, particularly where children have been placed in schools far from their homes.

Other concerns include school selection, programme changes and placements that parents say do not correspond with their original choices. Recent reports from the centre indicate that the volume of cases has resulted in packed spaces, long queues and repeated visits by affected families.

The CSSPS is designed to place candidates into senior high, technical and vocational institutions based on their choices, academic performance and available vacancies

The affected parents are calling for additional placement resolution centres to be established across Greater Accra to ease pressure on the GNAT Hall and reduce waiting times.

They are also demanding better communication from officials and the deployment of additional personnel to handle the growing number of cases.

For many of the parents at the centre, the issue goes beyond securing a school placement. They want timely explanations, clear information and a system that allows their concerns to be addressed without repeated trips and overnight stays.

The situation has renewed calls for a more decentralised approach to resolving CSSPS placement challenges, particularly during peak periods when thousands of families are seeking assistance at the same time.