BECE 2026: Private Schools Demand Urgent Audit of Results Following Reported Discrepancies

• Private schools want an audit of provisional 2026 BECE results after receiving reports from member schools across all 16 regions
• One reported case involves a candidate awarded a grade in Ewe despite never registering for or sitting the subject, while receiving a failing grade in the Twi paper they actually wrote
• The association warned it would consider further collective action if WAEC fails to investigate the reported anomalies, which it says could affect thousands of students' SHS placement

The Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) has called on the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to conduct an urgent audit of the provisional 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results, warning that widespread grading irregularities could deny deserving candidates fair placement into senior high schools.

In a statement released on Wednesday, August 5, GNAPS said it had compiled reports from member schools in all 16 regions of Ghana pointing to inconsistencies in the results WAEC released on July 29.

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The association said the anomalies raise serious doubts about the accuracy of the collation process and the integrity of grades awarded to affected candidates.

Among the specific cases cited, one candidate who registered for and sat the Ghanaian Language paper in Twi received a Grade 7 in that subject, while also being awarded a Grade 3 in Ewe, a subject they never registered for or wrote.

GNAPS said this was not an isolated incident, with multiple schools reporting students receiving grades in subjects they never offered, outcomes inconsistent with existing academic records, and unexplained failures.

The association also flagged an unusually high failure rate among private school candidates, arguing that the results stand in stark contrast to those students' performance in continuous assessments, terminal examinations and mock examinations conducted before the BECE.

"What we are pointing to are errors of collation and attribution, administrative and technical failures in the processing of results that, if they are not corrected, will deny hardworking and deserving children the results they earned," GNAPS said in its statement.

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GNAPS Demands Action From WAEC

The association is pressing WAEC to reconcile all affected results, ensure every candidate is credited only for examinations they actually sat, and guarantee that grades are awarded purely on merit regardless of whether a candidate attended a public or private school.

GNAPS noted that the timing of the discrepancies was particularly damaging, given that candidates are currently working through school selection for placement into senior high school.

It said it is actively documenting complaints from member schools nationwide and would consider further collective action should WAEC fail to investigate and address the reported anomalies.

WAEC released the provisional 2026 BECE results on July 29, simultaneously announcing that it had cancelled the subject results of 601 candidates for examination malpractice.

The council also withheld the full results of 167 candidates and the subject results of a further 2,722 others pending investigations into suspected irregularities.

GNAPS said it supports all legitimate measures WAEC takes against genuine malpractice, but insisted that administrative errors in results processing were a separate matter requiring immediate corrective action.

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What to expect for 2026 BECE candidates

YEN.com.gh reported that this year's process marks a notable departure from previous practice. In past years, candidates chose their preferred senior high schools before sitting the BECE.

The policy has now been revised so that students can first review their results and assess their performance before making school selections.

Candidates will also be required to select eight senior high schools in total, one more than the seven permitted last year.

Among those choices, they must include two Category 'A' schools, one with boarding facilities and the other a day school within their district.

Source: YEN.com.gh