Final-year senior high school (SHS) students in Ghana will tomorrow join their peers across West Africa to sit for the May–June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates (SC), beginning with the Oral English paper. According to statistics released by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to the Daily Graphic, a total of 509,862 candidates are expected to participate nationwide, comprising 225,274 males and 284,588 females.
The 2026 examination commenced earlier with practical sessions and project work in subjects such as Visual Arts and Home Economics. However, all candidates will take part in tomorrow’s Oral English, a paper that Ghanaian students have written exclusively over the past five years.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic compelled WAEC member countries to reschedule the WASSCE-SC from its traditional May–June period to July 20–September 5. The following year, the examination was conducted from August 16 to October 8. Since 2021, WAEC member states—including Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia—have worked to harmonise their academic calendars, restoring the examination to its original May–June schedule.
Regional breakdown
Per the regional breakdown, Ashanti Region leads the pack with a total of 127,702 candidates, comprising 57,885 males and 69,817 females. The Eastern Region follows with 70,099 candidates, made up of 29,810 males and 40,289 females, with the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regions featuring 67,739 candidates (29,658 males and 38,081 females).
Candidates from the Central Region are 61,303, while 22,418 males and 25,681 females, totalling 48,099, will sit in the Greater Accra Region. Volta Region candidates are 41,622 (19,261 males and 22,361 females), and that of Oti Region and Western North are 35,620 candidates (14,480 males and 21,140 females).
The Northern Region (North East, Savannah and Northern Region) will be represented by 33,155 candidates, Upper East Region has 15,192 candidates (6,093 males and 9,099 females) and the Upper West Region features 9,249 candidates (3,985 males and 5,266 females).
Source: Emmanuel Bonney