Ghana will participate in the May-June West African Senior School Certificate Examination for School Candidates (WASSCE-SC) this year, joining four other West African countries. This marks a return to the common examination after five years of following a separate path in pre-tertiary assessments.
The Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Professor Ernest Kofi Davis, confirmed to the Daily Graphic that Ghana will rejoin the May-June WASSCE-SC. “Yes, we are returning to the international exams, so we will be taking the May-June exams alongside the other West African countries,” he emphasised.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced member countries of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to shift the WASSCE-SC from May-June to July 20 to September 5, 2020, and in 2021, the examination was administered from August 16 to October 8. After 2021, all the other member countries of WAEC, namely Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone and The Gambia, made efforts to streamline their academic calendars to return to the May-June calendar for the examination.
Ghana Only Version
After five years of using a Ghana-only version of the WASSCE-SC, candidates from Ghana will now join other WAEC members for the examination, which will begin next month with practical or project work. The Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) announced that preparations started last year to align Ghana’s WASSCE-SC calendar with those of other WAEC member countries.
In an interview on the sidelines of the 2025 WAEC Distinction Awards last Thursday, Prof. Davis mentioned that schools across the country have been informed to prepare their candidates for the upcoming examination. He expressed hope that Ghanaian candidates would rank among the top three in the results.
Preparations.
“That is our hope, that is our belief. We are encouraging our students to do their best to continue to keep Ghana in the limelight,” he said. With the return of Ghana to the international examination, the GES boss advised candidates to put in their best and not expect any external help since it would not be there anyway.
“They should work hard; they can do it. So, we admonish them to study very hard and then do their best in the exams, and then success would definitely be theirs. “We are encouraging the teachers to support them to prepare very well to pass their exams and pass very well by themselves,” Prof. Davis said.
The GES Director-General advised the candidates against all forms of examination malpractice and instead urged them to study so that their results would be reflective of their true academic capabilities. He said this would help the authorities to know how well the educational system was faring.
Suspension
In March 2020, WAEC announced the suspension of the WASSCE-SC until further notice. In a memorandum dated March 19, 2020, WAEC stated that this decision was made in response to the negative impact of the novel and deadly COVID-19, along with the protocols implemented by the government to prevent its spread.
At that time, WAEC had registered 357,737 candidates to sit for the WASSCE in April. The organisation indicated that the effects of COVID-19 and the resulting measures taken by member countries had serious implications for the conduct of the WASSCE-SC 2020, as agreed upon by the national offices.
Source: Emmanuel Bonney
