Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch) has called on the government to urgently address the stark digital divide in Ghana’s basic schools as over 600,000 candidates prepare to sit for the 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). In a statement issued Tuesday, June 10, Eduwatch described the current situation as a case of “unequal access, unequal exam,” warning that thousands of candidates, particularly from deprived districts, will be forced to take the Computing paper without ever having used a computer.
“Two unequal groups will take the same exam: candidates from well-equipped schools with hands-on experience using computers, and those from deprived schools who learned computing through blackboard instruction,” the education policy think tank noted. Eduwatch’s monitoring reveals that only 2 per cent of schools in deprived districts have functional computers. These districts, mainly in the five northern regions, Oti, and Western North, serve over 2 million children but suffer critical deficits in ICT infrastructure.
Even in relatively resourced areas, the Eduwatch added, many schools struggle to provide basic access to computers for effective teaching and learning. Citing Ghana Statistical Service data, Eduwatch highlighted that 72 per cent of children aged 6–14 in the Savannah Region have never used an ICT device. Digital illiteracy is similarly high in the North-East (67%), Northern (65%), Upper East, and Bono East (56%) regions.
“No child should be academically disadvantaged due to where they live or their school’s resources,” Eduwatch stressed. “Transformative education must bridge inequality, not deepen it.” The organisation urged the government to roll out a targeted intervention that includes the provision of ICT infrastructure, electricity, and trained personnel in deprived schools to ensure inclusive access to digital learning.
“Ghana’s digital transformation must begin with inclusive digital literacy at the basic level,” Eduwatch concluded. A total of 603,328 candidates are expected to take part in the 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), scheduled to run from Tuesday, June 11 to Tuesday, June 18, across the country.
The Ghana Education Service (GES), announcing the figure ahead of the nationwide exams, said the cohort comprises 297,250 males and 306,078 females from both public and private schools. With all materials and timetables already dispatched to centres, the GES says it is fully prepared for a smooth and credible examination process.
By: William Narh
