WAEC sacks private JHS BECE candidates over fake index numbers

Some Twenty-one final year students of New Vision Preparatory School were not permitted to sit for the Basic Education Certificate Examination after the West African Examinations Council found out their index numbers were fake.

According to a media report, the 2023 BECE candidates were turned away at the examination after their headmaster refused to register them to write the national examination despite collecting their registration fees for the BECE.

In an interview with Kasapa News, parents of the students recounted an instance some years back where the school’s proprietor’s father, run away with the BECE for School registration fees of the candidates without registering them.

In a discussion with final-year students of New Vision Preparatory School, they revealed that each of them paid an amount of GH¢400 as the BECE registration fee while one candidate paid 600 cedis because he registered late with the school.

Scheduled to end Friday, August 11, 2023, a total of 600,714 candidates, comprising 300,323 boys and 300,391 girls from 18,993 Junior High Schools are participating in the 2023 BECE which commenced on Monday, August 7, 2023.

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) amid low entries in registration of BECE for Private Candidates this academic year is conducting both the 2023 BECE for School and BECE for Private Candidates at the same time.

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.

With regard to 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 BECE for School Candidates will be held at 2,137 examination centres across the country, while 15 centres mainly in the regional capitals will be used for the BECE for Private candidates,” WAEC said in a post sighted by AcademicWeek.com.

For BECE School and Private candidates, 21 subjects, comprising 5 Core and 16 Electives will be made available to them. In addition to the 5 Core subjects, the School candidates will be given the option of choosing four Electives to make a maximum of 9 subjects.

To ensure the smooth and successful conduct of the 2023 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), 2,137 supervisors, 2,000 supervisors and 21,027 invigilators are overseeing the administration of the School examination.