Ghana University Admissions: GTEC Tells Tertiary Schools to Stop Making Entrance Exams Compulsory
- The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission has ordered tertiary institutions to withdraw admission notices that make entrance examinations compulsory
- GTEC stated that WASSCE results remain the primary qualification under the approved national admissions framework for tertiary education
- The Commission warned that entrance examinations may only serve as an additional assessment tool and must not override minimum entry requirements
The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has ordered tertiary institutions across the country to discontinue the practice of requiring entrance examinations as a mandatory condition for admission, stating that such requirements violate the national regulatory framework governing tertiary education.
The Commission issued a formal directive instructing heads of affected institutions to immediately withdraw any admission notices that impose entrance examinations as a compulsory prerequisite, and to align their processes with the approved admissions guidelines.
Source: Getty Images
GTEC grounded its directive in the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023), under which it holds responsibility for developing and implementing admission criteria and requirements for tertiary education in Ghana.
The Commission stated that certain institutions had introduced entrance examinations as preconditions for admission, a practice it described as undermining the national admissions framework and restricting equitable access to tertiary education.
Under the approved framework, WASSCE results serve as the primary qualification for admission, and institutions are not permitted to replace or override that standard with their own testing requirements.
"Entrance examinations shall only be used as an additional component to the prescribed requirements, based on competitiveness and not as a prerequisite that overrides the WASSCE-based minimum entry requirements," GTEC stated in its directive.
What Institutions Are Required to Do
The Commission clarified that entrance examinations are not categorically prohibited. Institutions may still use them as supplementary assessment tools in competitive situations, but only after an applicant has satisfied the minimum entry requirements based on WASSCE results.
The examinations cannot serve as a gateway that prospective students must pass before their qualifications are even considered.
GTEC emphasised that strict adherence to the national admissions guidelines is essential to guarantee fairness, transparency and equal opportunities for all students seeking access to tertiary education in Ghana.
Institutions that have already published admission notices requiring compulsory entrance examinations have been directed to retract those notices without delay.
Source: YEN.com.gh
