GES postpone 2023 BECE for School Candidates from September

The Ghana Education Service (GES) after engagement with relevant stakeholders in the education sector has slated August 7 to 11, 2023 as the new date for the 2023 edition of the BECE for School Candidates to be conducted.

The new date comes after the management of GES earlier in the 2023 academic year calendar communicated that the national examination to be administered by the West African Examinations Council will be written in September 2023.

Announcing the final date to conduct the 2023 Basic Education Certificate Examination in a social media post sighted by AcademicWeek, the Education Service said “BECE date has finally been settled on the 7th to 11th of August 2023.”

It also entreated members of the general public particularly students in the country to disregard any information indicating the 2023 academic calendar for Kindergarten, primary and Junior High Schools has been changed.

“Please note that the 2023 Academic Calendar hasn’t been changed. Please ignore any information that is contrary to this. The only clarification is the BECE date which has finally been settled on the 7th to 11th of August 2023,” it said.

BECE is both for certification and selection into second-cycle school. The BECE results are based on Continuous Assessment and external examination. The Continuous Assessment forms 30% whilst the external examination forms 70% of the total assessment.

Eligibility

Public and private candidates in the third year of Junior High Schools (JHS) approved by the Ghana Education Service (GES0 are eligible to register to take part in the national examination administered by the West African Exams Council.

BECE date

The Basic Education Certificate Examination for School is usually conducted nationwide in June each year but amid the outbreak of coronavirus which impacted the academic calendar, it will be administered in September this year.

Grading of candidates

Candidates are graded based on their performance in the external examination (objective and written) and Continuous (Internal) Assessment marks provided by the schools.

A nine-point numerical scale is used in grading the candidates with Grade 1 denoting the highest performance and Grade 9 the lowest.

BECE results release

The results of the national examination for Junior High School candidates are released in August to enable successful and qualified candidates to enter Senior High Schools and Technical Institutes at the beginning of the academic year.

The BECE for School Candidates results lists are sent to the participating schools, whilst each candidate receives a statement of results through his/her school. They can also check their results online at www.waecgh.org.

BECE certificates

The BECE for School certificates are sent to the various schools for collection by individual candidates who sat for the exams. Certificates are produced once, and so certificates which get lost or damaged after collection are not replaced.

Bece registration

Registration for BECE is done electronically. Statement of Entries, CDs together with the registration fees should reach the appropriate Office of the Council by specified dates that will be determined by the Council from year to year.