WAEC Rejects Claims of Marking Down Private School BECE Candidates
- The West African Examinations Council fired back at allegations by the Ghana National Association of Private Schools over the 2026 BECE results
- GNAPS raised concerns about grading discrepancies in provisional results that could affect private school candidates' placement into senior high schools
- WAEC's Head of Public Affairs addressed the controversy at a press briefing, defending the Council's grading process
PAY ATTENTION: Mark YEN.com.gh as a preferred source, and our content will appear higher in your Google feed!
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has pushed back firmly against allegations that it deliberately disadvantages candidates from private schools in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), calling the claims baseless.
Source: UGC
The rebuttal came in response to concerns raised by the Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS), which flagged what it described as widespread grading discrepancies in the 2026 provisional BECE results.
The association warned that the anomalies could have serious consequences for candidates seeking placement into senior high schools.
WAEC defends its grading process
Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday, WAEC Head of Public Affairs John Kapi was unequivocal in his rejection of the claims.
"These allegations are false, misleading and have no factual basis. WAEC wishes to assure all stakeholders, parents, guardians, educational authorities, school proprietors and the public that the Council's assessment and grading processes are guided by internationally accepted principles of fairness, consistency, objectivity and integrity," he said.
Kapi stressed that scripts from public and private school candidates are assessed using identical standards, with no room for institutional bias.
He explained that the BECE relies on the stanine grading system, which measures each candidate's performance relative to the broader pool of all candidates sitting the examination, and is applied uniformly across the board.
WAEC open to independent audit
On GNAPS' demand for an independent audit of the provisional results, Kapi said the Council would not stand in the way of such a review, provided it was clearly scoped and carried out by qualified experts.
He also encouraged stakeholders with specific grievances to engage WAEC through its official channels rather than airing unverified concerns publicly.
The controversy follows GNAPS issuing a formal statement on Wednesday, 6 August, after gathering reports from member schools across all 16 regions pointing to what they called inconsistencies in how results had been collated and grades assigned.
WAEC released the 2026 BECE provisional results on Wednesday, 29 July. At the time, the Council announced that the subject results of 601 candidates had been cancelled due to examination malpractice.
The full results of 167 candidates were withheld, and the subject results of a further 2,722 candidates were held back pending ongoing investigations into suspected irregularities.
The YouTube post below shares a full interview of WAEC representative John Kapi granted to Joy FM as he responded to claims about private school BECE candidates.
Candidates who used self-placement can change schools
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that candidates who have been placed into Senior High Schools (SHSs) after the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) may be wondering whether they can change their assigned schools.
Under the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS), candidates who are automatically placed into one of their initial school choices cannot change their placement online.
The automatic placement process is determined by factors such as candidates’ raw scores, merit, programme availability and vacancies in selected schools.
Don't miss out! Get your daily dose of sports news straight to your phone. Join YEN's Sports News channel on WhatsApp now!
Source: YEN.com.gh
