Accra: A total of 619,985 candidates are expected to sit for this year's Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), scheduled to run from Monday, May 4 to Monday, May 11, 2026.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr John K. Kapi, Head of Public Affairs at the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), provided a breakdown revealing that 304,273 of the candidates are males, while 315,712 are females.
The candidates, drawn from 20,784 schools, will write eleven subjects at 2,302 centres across the country. Mr Kapi emphasized that the rules governing the examination remain unchanged, advising candidates to report to the examination halls on time and prohibiting them from entering with mobile phones or any electronic devices.
Mr Kapi further cautioned teachers without official roles in the examination process to avoid the centres and warned against any attempts to assist candidates. He stated that any teacher found violating these rules would face consequences.
Statistics from WAEC indicated regional participation, with the Upper West Region presenting 14,928 candidates from 628 schools at 51 centres, and the Greater Accra Region having 114,243 candidates from 3,295 schools at 443 centres. The Eastern Region registered 56,700 candidates from 2,222 schools at 211 centres, while the Central Region has 69,496 candidates from 2,531 schools at 247 centres.
Further, Western Region recorded 45,457 candidates from 1,408 schools at 154 centres, and Ashanti Region has the highest number, with 124,905 candidates from 3,383 schools at 444 centres. Other regions such as the Bono, Volta, Northern, Upper East, and more have also registered significant numbers of candidates.
The BECE is a crucial step for final-year Junior High School students, allowing them to progress to Senior High Schools and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions in Ghana. The final results are based on a combination of Continuous Assessment, contributing 30 per cent, and the external examination, forming 70 per cent.