Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch) has urged government intervention to support the 54,985 candidates who failed to secure placement into public Senior High Schools (SHS) and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions under the 2026 Free SHS/TVET programme.
The organisation recommended that the affected candidates, who sat the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), be given the opportunity to improve their performance and resit the examination, with the state absorbing the cost. Eduwatch noted that a similar measure was adopted in 2019, when 38,355 unplaced candidates were supported to return to Junior High School (JHS) 3 and prepare to rewrite the BECE.
It argued that a comparable approach should be extended to the 2026 cohort, complemented by targeted learning‑improvement initiatives. Eduwatch further observed that the exclusion of such a large number of candidates raises broader concerns about the academic criteria governing placement under the Free SHS/TVET policy.
The organisation highlighted inconsistencies in the treatment of Grade 9 scores in English Language and Mathematics, noting that candidates with such grades have been excluded in some years but admitted in others. “Such inconsistencies create uncertainty for candidates, parents and schools and underscore the need for a clearly defined and consistently applied qualification standard within the Free SHS/TVET policy framework,” Eduwatch stated.
The organisation argued that the qualification framework should reflect Ghana’s objective of making secondary education a universal pathway for every basic school graduate. It added that candidates who do not meet the academic threshold should have access to an appropriate second-cycle option, whether general secondary education or TVET.
Eduwatch has therefore called on the Ministry of Education to clearly define and publish the minimum academic qualification for Free SHS/TVET placement. It also wants the Ministry to provide targeted learning support to affected candidates and absorb the cost of resitting the BECE.
