Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare, has noted that the introduction of the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy has reduced the relevance of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).Speaking to the media on Tuesday, August 4, Kofi Asare indicated that the BECE played a much broader role in the country's educational structure before the implementation of the Free SHS policy.

According to him, “BECE in time past, before the Free Senior High, it was used for two main reasons. The first was to determine who goes to secondary school because there was a cut-off point of 36.

“The second was to determine which school one is placed in and other minor reasons for certification. It served as evidence for completing the JHS level.

“But since 2017/2018, when we introduced Free SHS, we have come to agree as a country that the minimum level of education that any Ghanaian should have is secondary. On average, 98 percent of BECE candidates have always qualified for placement, and so BECE relevance now is only for placement.”

Moving away, he attributed factors such as examination-related stress, differences in preparation, and the conditions under which external assessments are conducted to students' failure in the examinations.

“Some students do very well in school, but immediately they get into an external environment to undergo assessments, they respond not too well compared to their local school environment.

“You can’t say that because I did three, four or five mock examinations and performed well, I will definitely get the same grades in the BECE. Nothing like that. Stress levels differ for every examination, and the level of preparation also differs.“So I’m just giving you one example of intervening factors that can work for or work against your performance. It is therefore difficult to compare examinations over time, especially when some are conducted at the school level, some are mock examinations and others are external assessments,” he added.Meanwhile, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has withheld the subject results of 2,722 candidates from 229 schools who sat for the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination over their alleged involvement in examination malpractice. In addition, WAEC has cancelled the entire results of 601 candidates for engaging in various forms of examination malpractice. This information was contained in a press statement signed by Head of Public Affairs John K. Kapi on Wednesday, July 29.

According to WAEC, the new development was approved at the 37th Meeting of the Final Awards and Examiners’ Appointment Committee for the BECE, held on July 21. The release of the results will pave the way for the placement of successful candidates into Senior High Schools (SHS) across the country.

The Minister assured the public that he would not interfere in the work of the assessment body. "As I've always indicated as Minister, I don't interfere with the work of assessment institutions like WAEC. It is within their domain," Mr Iddrisu said.

The Minister acknowledged the challenges parents and students face during the school placement process, particularly due to limited infrastructure and the growing demand for senior high school education.While conceding that available resources have not been sufficient to tackle the issue in its entirety, he stressed that the government is pursuing measures to bridge the gap. Among these measures is the Sustainable Development for Improved Access to Tertiary Education and Jobs (STAR-J) project, which seeks to strengthen and expand infrastructure within the education sector."Justifiably so, in truth, we have not had the resources to respond head-on to this challenge. To resolve it, we need adequate resources to expand infrastructure by way of classroom blocks and other educational facilities," he said.

Mr Iddrisu appealed for patience as the government works to improve the placement system. "You may have to give me another year, then I'll be better off in resolving the school placement issues," he said.

According to him, the government is undertaking a review of the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) to strengthen accountability and ensure that school placements are awarded on merit, eliminating opportunities for favouritism and external interference. "We have had to set up a review committee of the placement system itself and subject it to scrutiny. Does it respect merit? Is it influenced by favouritism? Are politicians taking advantage of it to reward protocol rather than merit?" he stated.

According to him, reforms are being introduced to ensure that parents and students make school choices based on actual results. "We intend to run an open, transparent placement system," he said.

The Minister added that under the new arrangement, BECE candidates will select schools only after their results have been released, allowing them to make informed decisions based on their grades.

"Parents, take note: based on the aggregate of your son or daughter, you will know where your child belongs," he said.

In early July, the Ghana Education Service (GES) revealed that this year's BECE candidates would begin selecting their senior high schools from July 20 to August 7. The education authority disclosed this in a notice dated July 6, announcing a nationwide training and sensitisation exercise on the 2026 School Selection Guidelines and Placement Procedures.

GES further announced that the school selection process for BECE candidates would commence while the sensitisation exercise was ongoing. "Please note that BECE candidates will start selecting their schools from Monday, July 20, to Friday, August 7, 2026," it stated.

The statement further invited regional and metro/municipal/district directors of education to attend a training and sensitisation exercise on the 2026 School Selection Guidelines and Placement Procedures at their respective regional education offices.According to the statement, the exercise is aimed at preparing education directors to effectively supervise the school selection and placement process.

The Service noted that the nationwide exercise was scheduled to take place from Wednesday, July 15, to Tuesday, July 28, 2026.

"This training and sensitisation exercise is intended to provide deeper insight into the selection guidelines and enable you to offer effective oversight throughout the exercise," the statement said.