Only 17% of 2026 BECE candidates scored aggregates 6–18 – CSSPS

About 107,000 candidates who sat the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) obtained aggregates ranging from six to 18, the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) has disclosed. The Coordinator of the CSSPS, Sherif Sulemana, said the figure represented approximately 17 per cent of the estimated 620,000 candidates who took the examination. “If you look at the data on the performance of the candidates, we only had about 17 per cent of the candidates getting from aggregate six to 18.

In absolute figures, you are talking about 107,000,” he said on JoyFM’s Super Morning Show on Thursday, September 3. Mr Sulemana made the disclosure while discussing candidates’ performance and eligibility ahead of the placement exercise into second-cycle institutions. He said the CSSPS had identified approximately 565,000 candidates as eligible for placement this year.

“Based on our analysis, we have about 565,000 qualified for placement this year,” he stated. This leaves about 55,000 candidates ineligible for placement out of the estimated 620,000 who sat the examination. Mr Sulemana explained that candidates who failed either English Language or Mathematics were excluded from the placement process.

“You are disqualified from placement if you have failed either English or Mathematics,” he said. He, however, clarified that obtaining Grade 9 under the standardised grading system did not necessarily mean that a candidate had failed. According to him, candidates’ raw scores are considered in determining whether their performance meets the placement requirements.

The CSSPS coordinator also announced that call centres had been activated to assist candidates and parents with placement-related concerns, particularly those who live far from regional resolution centres. “If you are in a district far from the regional centre, all you have to do is call the call centre, let them understand your issue, and that will be resolved for you,” he said. Only about 35 per cent of candidates who sat the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) obtained aggregates ranging from six to 24, according to the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS).

The Coordinator of the CSSPS, Sherif Sulemana, on JoyFM’s Super Morning Show on Thursday, September 3, said approximately 252,000 candidates fell within the aggregate-six-to-24 category. “You only had about 252,000 or so, or about 35 per cent of the candidates, getting from aggregate six to 24,” he said. He further disclosed that only 17 per cent of the candidates, representing approximately 107,000 students, obtained aggregates between six and 18.