GES sends message to parents over BECE 2023 selection of schools

As the 2023 BECE students begin their selection of schools, the Ghana Education Service has urged parents to take an interest in their ward’s schools selection, particularly if not formally educated and may not be able to guide the student accordingly.

In a discussion with AcademicWeek, a staff of GES said the nationwide selection of schools process scheduled to start on Monday August 21, 2023 will end on Monday, September 4 2023, with no extension of the selection deadline.

“At this stage, we advise parents to make time and go to their ward’s school, ask questions and understand the process to be sure of their child’s ability to be able to guide them away from choosing schools (and programmes) they are unlikely to get admission into.

Many parents and siblings who have stormed the Ministry of Education over the past years after the placement has been done claim they were not aware of the SHSs selection process to be able to provide the necessary support.

Parents and guardians are not to assume that their child will get his or her first choice of second-cycle school because he or she is brilliant. Kindly select the school choices carefully because it is possible the child could end up there.

Also Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) graduates, parents and members of the general public are to note that you cannot switch or change courses once you get in, so the desired course must be carefully chosen.

If you are a parent, pay attention to the child’s compulsory day choice. It must be a school the child can commute to if placed there as a day student and it can be a school from any category, even if you have chosen the school as your 1st or 2nd or 3rd choice as a boarder.

Assist your ward in the school selection process and save yourself the headache of a trip to the Ministry of Education headquarters in Accra when the placement is done because in most cases nothing can be done or changed,” he said.

A total of 600,714 candidates, comprising 300,323 males and 300,391 females from 18,993 Junior High Schools (JHSs0 sat for the 2023 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) which ended on Friday, August 11, 2023.

The number of candidates that registered for this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) for School according to the non-profit-making organization (WAEC) is 8.8% higher than the 2022 entry figure of 552,276.

The 2023 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) for School Candidates was held at 2,137 examination centres across the country, while 15 centres mainly in the regional capitals were used for the BECE for Private candidates.