Kofi Asare, the Executive Secretary of EduWatch, has called for a reform in the structure of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
The EduWatch labelled the current BECE format as a torture on learners just for school placement.
According to Kofi Asare, the current BECE format places undue pressure on students due to the number of subjects the candidates are required to write within a limited period.
He further argued that the current arrangement is outdated and does not reflect modern assessment systems used in other countries.
Kofi Asare proposed reducing the ten subjects to four subjects: Math, English, Science and General Paper.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, May 7, Kofi Asare wrote, “Piling 10 subjects over a 5-day high-stakes BECE just for school placement is torture on learners.
Reduce to 4 subjects: Math, English, Science & General Paper. Others even use an aptitude test plus continuous assessment. This is 2026, not 1996”.
In related news, four students sitting for the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) have been caught engaging in examination malpractice.
Reports suggest that the four BECE candidates were caught by external invigilators engaging in examination malpractice.
The information gathered suggests that among the four were a pair of twins who were found with swapped answer booklets.
The other two students were also busted exchanging question papers with written answers.
The news shared by SIKAOFFICIAL on X wrote, “Four students sitting for the BECE have been caught by external invigilators engaging in examination malpractice.
Among them was a pair of twins who were found with swapped answer booklets, while the other two students were discovered exchanging question papers with written answers”.
Rosemond Wilson, the Head of the Ghana National Office of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), in an interview with Channel One on May 6, 2026, stated, “There were four students. Two of them were twins, and they exchanged their answer booklets, and one was writing for the other. And then the other pair exchanged their question papers.
“And in their question papers, they’ve written solutions to some of the questions in them, so we will take it up and do further investigations,” she said.
“And the assumptions will be that if they are found culpable, that particular subject that they were involved in will be cancelled,” she stated.
Also, John Kapi, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) Head of Public Affairs, has revealed that seven Teachers have been engaged in alleged examination malpractice during the ongoing 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
According to John Kapi, the arrests were made across three regions: the Central, Bono and Ashanti Regions.
He disclosed that three of the teachers were arrested in the Central Region, two in the Bono Region, and two in the Ashanti Region.
The Head of Public Affairs at WAEC disclosed that five of the teachers smuggled mobile phones into the examination halls, adding that investigations revealed that some solved questions on external platforms.
Meanwhile, the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination began on Monday, May 4, with over 620,000 candidates across Ghana sitting for the exams.
The exams conducted by the West African Examinations Council will run until May 11, with 620,141 candidates from 20,395 schools set to participate.
The exam officials have disclosed that they have tightened measures to curb malpractice, taking a firm stance against examination malpractice.
Of the 620,000 candidates, 304,349 are boys, and 315,792 are girls, with the 2026 BECE candidate increasing by 16,813 candidates, or 2.7%, compared to the 2025 BECE 603,328 candidates.
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