THIS year’s West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates will be conducted from Monday, July 31 to September 26, 2023.

Also, the Basic Education Certificate Examination for both school and private candidates for this year will be written simultaneously from Monday, August 7 to Friday, August 11, 2023.

The schedule for the two exit examinations for final-year students of senior high schools (SHSs) and junior high schools (JHS) have been brought forward a month, compared to the schedule for 2022.

While the 2022 WASSCE took place from Monday, August 1 to Tuesday, September 27, the BECE was written from October 17 to 21.

Addressing the press in Accra yesterday, the Head of Public Affairs of WAEC, Agnes Teye-Cudjoe, said the schedule, particularly for the WASSCE, would be for only candidates in Ghana. 

Final-year students in SHSs sit the WASSCE as their exit examination and successful results enable them to pursue tertiary education.

While school candidates sit for the examination in July to September, private candidates usually write their papers from October to December, hence the popular name: Nov/Dec.

The BECE, on the other hand, is the exit examination for final-year JHS students, who, after successful completion, decide to continue at SHS or technical and vocational education training (TVET) centres or learn a trade, depending on one’s interest.

The timetable for these two examinations were disrupted in 2020 after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which compelled the government to close down schools and all other public gatherings in a bid to curb the spread of the disease.

Mrs Teye-Cudjoe said the portal for the registration of eligible candidates for the WASSCE for school candidates had been opened, and that it would close on Wednesday, April 19, 2023.

The council, she said, had held briefing sessions nationwide for the authorities of 978 schools who were expected to present candidates for the examination, and that during the briefing sessions, it was emphasised that school authorities should take note of the requirements during the registration process.

“These are the correct spelling of names and the arrangement of names in the right order: that is, surname, first name and other names; eg. Yeboah Daniel Kwabena.

“Confirmation of date of birth by candidates before finalisation of the registration process; proper capturing of candidates’ photographs showing candidate’s faces without sunglasses or spectacles and both ears,” she said.

“Candidates are urged to ensure that their bio-data are captured correctly, as no amendment of date of birth, re-arrangement/addition or subtraction of names will be entertained after the release of final results and the printing of certificates.

“The council will make test accommodation arrangements for candidates who cannot be assessed by the standard procedures set out because of disability or special educational needs.
“Requests for access arrangements for special needs candidates, with accompanying medical reports, should be forwarded to the council by Tuesday, May 2, 2023,” she said.

Illegalities

Regarding eligibility, she said  it was against the rules and regulations of the examination for schools to solicit for students and advertise the examination in any form :  in the print, electronic or social media.

Also, she said, it was an offence to register students who had not been enrolled in SHS from their first-year through to the third-year and did not have theregister students who had not been enrolled in SHS from their first-year through to the third-year and did not have the required continuous assessment records.

“The grading for the WASSCE SC is 70 per cent external examination score and 30 per cent continuous assessment score.

Students who, for one reason or another, transferred from one school to another should have evidence of the necessary continuous assessment records,” she said.

Mrs Teye-Cudjoe indicated that it was also an offence to register students who were not in final-year or were not bona fide students of the school in question, adding: “We have received intelligence reports of some students in public schools who move from their schools to private schools to register for the examination because of assurances of obtaining good grades by those schools.”

Again, she said, it was against the rules and regulations to register ‘remedial’ students who had previously written the WASSCE SC and join some public/accredited private schools in form three for examination purposes only, and that such students were being advised to register for the WASSCE for private candidates.

The Head of Public Affairs of WAEC informed the public that the approved WAEC registration fee for entry in seven or eight subjects was GH¢381.24, and that the figure was exclusive of the fees for practical or oral tests, which ranged between GH¢14.50 and GH¢19.50 per practical test.

The public, she said, was to note that sanctions for the registration of non-school/unqualified candidate(s) for school candidates’ examination and the fabrication and/or falsification of continuous assessment scores for the candidates were de-recognition of the affected school for not less than one year, a report made to the Ministry of Education or the appropriate WAEC Board for disciplinary action against the responsible person(s) and withholding of the entire results of the non-school/unqualified candidate, pending the outcome of investigations by the appropriate committee of the council.

She warned schools to desist from commercialising the examinations by advertising and assuring prospective candidates of excellent grades and thereby charging exorbitant fees.

BECE 2023

On the BECE for school and private candidates, she said the council would hold briefing sessions for all stakeholders who would be involved in the registration of candidates from March 21 to 24, 2023, and that “the registration portal for the registration of eligible candidates will be opened from Monday, March 27 to Friday, April 28, 2023”.

“As indicated earlier, it is important for all candidates to ensure that their bio-data are captured accurately, and that they are registered for the correct subjects.

School authorities are urged to ensure that they register candidates for the correct Ghanaian Language and Basic Design Technology options.

“As with the WASSCE (SC), access arrangements will be made for candidates with special educational needs,” she said.

Revised rules

Mrs Teye-Cudjoe said the rules and regulations for dealing with cases of irregularity in the council’s examinations for both examinations had been revised, and that they included destruction of exhibits, posting live questions on the Internet, refusal to grant timely access to the school premises and the misconduct of examination officials.

“The revised rules are available on the council’s website and heads of schools are urged to sensitise their candidates to them.

“To ensure that schools and candidates become conversant with the revised rules, the council will be embarking on a nationwide sensitisation exercise to create the needed awareness,” she added.