NewzThe Executive Director of Africa Education Watch (EduWatch), Kofi Asare, says the relevance of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) has significantly diminished following the introduction of the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy. According to him, the examination has moved away from its original purpose of determining which students qualify to enter secondary school and now serves mainly as a placement tool for assigning candidates to Senior High Schools. Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, August 4, Mr Asare explained that before the implementation of Free SHS, the BECE played a critical role in deciding who progressed to secondary education through a competitive selection process.
He said the examination previously served two main purposes: determining students eligible for secondary education based on a cut-off point and helping place successful candidates in appropriate schools. “BECE in time past, prior to Free Senior High, was used for two main reasons. The first was to determine who goes to secondary school because there was a cut-off point of 36.
The second was to determine which school one is placed in, with other minor reasons for certification,” he said. However, Mr Asare noted that the introduction of Free SHS in 2017/2018 altered the role of the examination, as the policy established secondary education as a basic educational expectation for Ghanaian children. He explained that over the years, a significant majority of candidates have qualified for placement, reducing the examination’s function as a selection mechanism.
“Since 2017/2018, when we introduced Free SHS, we have come to agree as a country that the minimum level of education that any Ghanaian should have is secondary,” he stated. “On average, 98 percent of BECE candidates have always qualified for placement, and so BECE relevance now is only for placement,” he added. Mr Asare’s comments come amid renewed discussions on the future of the BECE, examination reforms and how Ghana’s education system should assess students at the basic level.
The Press Secretary to the Minister for Education, Hashmin Mohammed, says senior high schools across the country are prepared to receive students who sat for the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and are awaiting placement. However, he acknowledged that some schools are facing infrastructure challenges due to the increasing number of students seeking admission into the secondary education system. “The schools are well prepared to receive the students, and this time of the year is not a pleasant one at the ministry because, if we want to look at it from the area of infrastructure, we are very challenged.
Like the Minister keeps saying, Free SHS is a very good policy, but we are not able to commensurate with the needed infrastructure to be able to make it well attractive. It is the reason why we are bringing on board the STARR-J Project,” he said. Mr Mohammed said the Ministry of Education is working to provide additional facilities in schools experiencing pressure on existing infrastructure to improve accommodation and learning conditions.
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