3 Charge BECE candidates to observe exam rules

Three organisations have urged candidates writing this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) to observe all the rules guiding the assessment.

The organisations, while wishing the candidates well in the examination, urged them to refrain from malpractices and approach all the papers diligently and consciously, and that they would come out with flying colours.

The three organisations are the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the Africa Education Watch (EDUWATCH).

WAEC

In a statement signed by the Head of Public Affairs, John Kapi, WAEC called on all and sundry, especially stakeholders involved in this year’s BECE, to ensure that sanity prevailed at the various centres across the country.

While wishing all the candidates success in the examination, the council, “admonish them to adhere strictly to the rules governing the examination. Any attempt to breach any of these will have dire consequences on the candidates.”

Outlining the arrangements it has put in place in the conduct of the examination, the statement reminded all stakeholders of the revised rules and regulations for dealing with cases of irregularities in the council's examinations, which had been in operation since 2023. 

GNAT

For its part, GNAT, in its goodwill message signed by the General Secretary, Thomas Musah, said: “We have ample confidence in you that you would neither disappoint yourselves nor fail your parents, guardians and society at large, hence you are encouraged to strive for the best to guarantee you all that is worth aspiring for in the years ahead of you.

“Please, remember GNAT is with you and Ghana is with you and that your labour and efforts would not be in vain,” it said.

It wished the candidates all the best and entreated them to face the examination with zeal, determination and optimism of a very bright future for themselves.

EDUWATCH

EDUWATCH, on the other hand, encouraged the candidates to be confident, focused and desist from examination malpractice.

“Computing is one of the important papers to be written in this year’s BECE. However, two unequal groups will take the same exam: candidates from well-equipped schools with hands-on experience using computers, and those from deprived schools who learned computing through blackboard instruction.

“Eduwatch’s tracking reveals that only two per cent of schools in deprived districts have functional computers.

These districts, primarily in the five northern regions, Oti and Western North, serve over two million children, yet face severe digital infrastructure deficits,” it said.

It said even schools in some endowed districts struggled with inadequate access to ICT facilities for teaching and learning Computing, adding that data from the Ghana Statistical Service also revealed that 72 per cent of children aged six to 14 in the Savannah Region had never used an ICT device.

Similarly, it said digital illiteracy remained high among basic school-aged children in the North-East (67 per cent), Northern (65 per cent), Upper East and Bono East (56 per cent) regions.

“Eduwatch believes that transformative education must bridge inequality, not deepen it. No child should be academically disadvantaged due to where they live or their school’s resources.

“We urge the government to roll out a deliberate plan to provide ICT infrastructure and electricity in all deprived schools, and ensure equitable access to digital learning tools and quality instruction across all basic schools,” it said.

2025 BECE

A total of 603,328 candidates across the country are writing the BECE, which started yesterday, June 11, and will end on Wednesday, June 18, 2025.

The 297,250 males and 306,078 females are the first batch of students seeking to benefit from the Free Senior High School (FSHS) policy under the new government.

The number of candidates who registered for this year's BECE for School Candidates (SC) makes up 5.99 per cent, an increment over the 2024 entry figure of 569,236.

With regard to the BECE for Private Candidates, a total of 1,661 candidates - 858 males and 803 females - were recorded.

This year's figure is 19.49 per cent higher than the 2024 entry figure of 1,390.

The BECE for School Candidates will be conducted at 2,237 examination centres across the country, while 15 centres in the regional capitals will be used for the BECE for Private Candidates.