MoE to introduce national prospectus for 1st-yr Free SHS students

The government through the Ministry of Education (MoE) this academic year will release what we call a national prospectus for first-year Free Senior High School (Free SHS) students who sat for 2023 BECE, a MoE official has said.

In a discussion monitored by AcademicWeek, he said the move forms part of measures to ensure second-cycle schools do not take advantage of the Free Senior High School policy to charge the 2023 BECE graduates any amount.

“This year the Ministry of Education is introducing a national prospectus, no 2023 BECE graduate to be placed in any of the various Senior High/Technical schools as first-year students will get a different prospectus,” the MoE official said.

Explaining the national prospectus, he said the list of items on the prospectus will be based on the programme or course of a first-year student. “For example, General Arts students might be asked to bring only cutlass,” he noted.

In a related development, the Ministry of Education says it has tasked a committee to work on an approved prospectus to be given to 2023 BECE graduates awaiting computer placement into various public Senior High/Technical Schools.

Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister for Education in a discussion monitored by AcademicWeek said the Senor High School prospectus will be released even before the West African Examinations Council releases the 2023 BECE results.

“We have set up a committee to look into the Senior High School prospectus and an approved prospectus will be out in the coming weeks. We will publish the list of items to be bought by BECE graduates before going to school,” he said.

The Education Minister furthered that “We will not allow any authorities of government Senior High School to issue self-made prospectus to first-year students to be admitted in their school, that era is over this academic year.”

This academic year, a total of over 600,000 prospective Junior High School graduates who sat for the 33rd edition of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) are expected to be placed in various public Senior High Schools.

A total of 600,714 candidates, comprising 300,323 boys and 300,391 girls from 18,993 Junior High Schools participated in the 2023 BECE for School Candidates which began on Monday, August 7, 2023, to Friday, August 11, 2023.

About the 2023 BECE for Private Candidates, a total entry figure of 1,743 candidates was recorded. This is made up of 889 males and 854 females. This year’s figure is 5.4% higher than the entry figure of 1,132 for 2022.

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.