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The company which designed the software for the Computerised Schools Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) has defended the electronic mode of selection, saying it cannot be manipulated for any underhand dealings in the placement of students. Reacting to the stampede in many Senior High Schools (SHSs) for admission and the anxiety among parents whose children did not get their first choice schools under the (CSSPS), the programme designers said the placement exercise had been transparent and that students were placed on merit according to the programmes and vacancies available in schools. There is considerable uneasiness among students and parents as this year�s placement reports are expected to get to the senior high schools by Tuesday, October 7. And to calm nerves, Dr Harriet Somuah, the Chief Executive of Somuah Systems Company (SISCO) Limited, which designed the programme, told the Daily Graphic that one of the policies that guided the placement was the use of raw scores, not the grades or aggregates, of candidates. According to her, the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) served two purposes the award of certificates and placement into SHS. She said for the award of certificates, the grades and aggregates obtained by candidates at the BECE were used, while, respect to the placement of candidates, the grades and aggregates obtained did not give enough detail and so the modified raw scores were used.�When we say modified raw scores, we mean the scores of a candidate in the BECE plus his/her continuous assessment marks,� she explained, adding that schools which failed to provide continuous assessment records of candidates created problems for their students. Dr Somuah explained further that the range of marks that made up a grade differed from one year to another and from one subject to another. Giving a scenario to explain the point, she said in one particular year, for instance, a candidate, Ama, could score English 65 (Grade 1). Social Studies 70 (Grade 1), Mathematics 63 (Grade 1), Science 64 (Grade 1), Pre-Tech 70 (Grade (Grade 1) and Ga 70 (Grade 1). Another candidate, Adjoa, could also have English 83 (Grade 1), Social Studies 90 (Grade 1), Mathematics 81 (Grade 1) Science 88 (Grade 1), French 88 (Grade 2) and Religious and Moral Education 81 (Grade 1). Dr. Somuah said from the scenario created, although Ama had Grade 1 in all subjects, Ajoa would be placed above her because Ajoa�s total raw scores of 511 were higher than Ama�s 402. �Placement does not understand grades or aggregates; it deals clearly with raw scores because there are big differences between the grades and aggregates,� she explained.