1 marking scheme is used to mark BECE for School scripts – WAEC

The management of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) says it uses a single marking scheme to mark BECE for School scripts of final-year Junior High School (JHS) students who sit for the national examination each year.

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the Examinations Council, Wendy Addy-Lamptey, in her address at a forum themed “The fundamentals of the BECE Grading System,” said the final marking scheme is developed for each subject.

“The final marking scheme is developed for each subject at the end of the Preliminary Coordinating meeting and all examiners use this final marking scheme to mark scripts of all candidates for that subject,” she said at the forum.

The final marking schemes (one for each subject), Mrs Wendy Addy-Lamptey said are used to mark dummy scripts of BECE for School and Private candidates to ensure consistency in the award of marks for the national examination.

The WAEC’s spokesperson comment comes after a politician, Joseph Yamin said the no-profit organization tactically mark down the Basic Education Certificate Examination scripts of private school students in other for them to fail.

In an interview with Ultimate FM, he said “Students at the private schools during the last academic term are leaving because of Free SHS. As of now, they have two marking schemes, one for private schools and for public schools.”

Citing discrimination against private school students who sit for the national examination, the politician has called on the Council to ensure a free and fair marking of the BECE scripts and do away with the secret marking schemes.

Mr Yamin in the discussion with the Kumasi-based radio station said the clandestine BECE marking scheme set out by the key stakeholders in the education sector has been endorsed by the government amid Free Senior High School.

The BECE was first conducted in the 1990s as a result of the 1987 Educational Reforms. The reforms came with the introduction of Continuous Assessment Scores as a component of the total score to be used for grading.

Administered to only final-year students in Junior High School, the Standard Nine (Stanine) Grading system was adopted for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).