The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has rejected claims that private school candidates were disadvantaged in the marking of the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
Reacting to the allegation made by the Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS), the Head of Public Affairs at WAEC, John Kapi said WAEC does not make any distinction between candidates from private and public schools during the assessment process.
“We do not make a distinction between private schools and public schools when it comes to assessment because all of them are supposed to have studied under the same syllabus, written the same standard examination, and all of them have had their scripts marked using the same standard marking scheme,” Mr Kapi said in an interview with Joy News.
He explained that examiners are unable to identify where school candidates come from while marking, which he said ensures a fair and transparent process.
“Even for the examiners who are marking the scripts, they can’t tell which one is a private school and which one is a public school,” he added.
His comment followed the allegations by the association of private schools that some private school candidates were disadvantaged in this year’s BECE results.
John Kapi said WAEC is prepared to receive and review any concerns raised by schools or candidates who believe their results do not reflect their performance.
“If they have concerns, they should come to us. We are ready to listen to them and address those concerns,” he stated.
He also described claims that some students received results for subjects they did not sit for as “strange,” adding that WAEC would require specific details before it can investigate such cases.
