Ghana rejoins regional WASSCE as 473,658 students sit exams

Ghana will rejoin the regional WASSCE as 473,658 final-year SHS students sit the 2026 examination alongside four West African countries.

The candidates will write the May–June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates together with peers in Liberia, The Gambia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, marking Ghana’s return to the regional format after five years of conducting a Ghana-only version due to disruptions caused by COVID-19.

The figure comprises 248,461 males and 225,197 females from 1,020 public and private second-cycle schools, representing a 2.58 per cent increase over last year’s total of 461,736 candidates.

The Head of Public Affairs at the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), John Kapi, disclosed this during a briefing on preparations for the examination.

He explained that Ghana’s return to the regional examination simply means all participating countries will now write the exams at the same time.

“Simply, it means that we (all WAEC member countries) are all writing at the same time. That is all, nothing has changed,” he said.

Mr Kapi emphasised the international nature of the examination, noting that all member countries are involved in setting and moderating the questions.

“We need to understand certain basic facts about the examinations that we conduct. The examinations are international in nature, which means that we involve every member country in our preparatory stages, especially when it comes to the moderating of questions and compilation of the examinations,” he said.

He further explained that after the examination, international panels jointly determine marking schemes and grading standards.

“So again, the international partners would sit down and determine all these things before we publish the results because we have this international competition among the candidates – what we call the excellence awards,” he said.

Mr Kapi added that, unlike previous years when Ghana conducted its exams ahead of other countries, all member states will now operate on a uniform timetable, starting and finishing the examination simultaneously.

On security arrangements, he said WAEC has strengthened measures to ensure the integrity of the examination process.

“Over the years, we have introduced a number of measures; we always want to be sure that the printing press is secured,” he said. “When the printing process starts, we have police presence there 24/7, and during working hours, we have additional security from the National Investigations Bureau (BNI).”

He noted that strict access control measures, surveillance systems including CCTV cameras, and security personnel at examination depots have been deployed to safeguard examination materials.

“So in terms of security, we have put in place adequate security measures. This is what we can do from our human point of view, so stakeholders—teachers, students, the community, opinion leaders as well as parents and guardians—would have to assist in the conduct of the examination devoid of malpractice,” he said.

Mr Kapi also called on stakeholders to support efforts to curb examination malpractice, warning of its long-term consequences.

“If you have them up to that point to cheat, they are going to cheat their way through life,” he emphasised.

He further disclosed that the serialisation of questions will be introduced as part of measures to minimise malpractice.

“So once you adopt serialisation, you solve the problem to a very large extent,” he explained.