34th edition of BECE subjects to be reduced from 9 to 5 – GES
Effective 2024, the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) subjects will be reduced to 5 instead of the usual 9 written by prospective Junior High School students, an official of the Ghana Education Service (GES) has announced.
The Director of Schools and Instructions Division at the Ghana Education Service, Prince Charles Agyemang-Duah in an interview said move aims to create a more focused and meaningful learning and examination environment for students.
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Agyemang-Duah emphasized that the previous nine subjects were deemed excessive, with some subjects appearing redundant and repetitive. As a result, the subject “Our World Our People” has been eliminated from the curriculum.
He explained that upon closer examination, this subject exhibited significant overlap with social studies, making the learning experience appear burdensome and potentially punitive for students.
“We realized that the number of subjects the students learn at a particular stage was too much and there were some subjects that were more or less like repetition.
This subject; Our world our people, has been scrapped because when you look inside that particular course in the curriculum and you compare it to the social studies, it’s like duplication, the same topic here and there”
“The goal is to ensure that learning is not perceived as a punishment for children but rather as a meaningful and productive experience,” The Director of Schools, Prince Agyemang-Duah said in an interview with Accra-based MX24.
He added that “starting 2024 BECE, candidates will now be assessed in five subjects, reflecting a thoughtful and strategic approach to curriculum development. So, in 2024, five subjects are going to be written by the candidates.”
Administered by the West African Examinations Council, the BECE is both for certification and selection into Senior High Schools. The result of the examination is based on Continuous Assessment and the external examination.
The Continuous Assessment forms 30% whilst the external examination forms 70% of the total assessment. Students in the third year of Junior High School approved by the Service are eligible to register to take part in this examination.