SHS students must use harmonised prospectus, insists the Ghana Education Service (GES), which plans to issue a national unified list of required school items for freshers. The directive is intended to standardize what parents and guardians must purchase, limiting confusion and ensuring fairness among all first-year students in second-cycle institutions.
According to Daniel Fenyi, GES’s Public Relations Officer, the new harmonised prospectus will not diverge dramatically from previous editions. He noted that many generic items — such as trunks, chop boxes, mattresses, bed sheets, and study materials — are already common features of past lists, and stakeholders are being consulted to refine the updated version.
First-year students across SHSs and technical institutions are scheduled to report on October 18, 2025, for the 2025/2026 academic year, in both single-track and transitional (double-track) schools. The reporting follows placements made through the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS), which delivered placements to 483,800 successful candidates — about 82 % of those who sat the BECE.
Some parents have begun preparing for the coming term by purchasing general items like uniforms, toiletries, buckets, shoes, and study aids. But others are holding off until the final prospectus list is released, to avoid buying unapproved items. One parent said, “I don’t want to buy any other thing that would be rejected, so we are waiting for the GES.”
Essential goods — metal trunks, books, mattresses, and buckets — remain among the most sought after. Some parents are shouldering financial strain, especially in light of rising prices, even though the Free SHS policy has eased certain costs.
As the prospectus is finalized, GES emphasizes that it is developing the list in consultation with heads of schools, teachers, parents, and other stakeholders to reflect reasonable expectations and avoid undue burdens.
