The main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has dismissed strict examination invigilation as the cause of students’ continued poor performance in this year’s West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). The party argued that the decline in certain subjects reflects deeper challenges within Ghana’s education system, including teaching quality, learning time, access to materials, attendance, and student support.
In a statement on the 2026 BECE and WASSCE results, the NPP noted that performance in English Language and Core Mathematics remains below the levels recorded in 2024. While Mathematics showed some recovery from last year’s dip, it has yet to reach the 2024 benchmark, and English Language has declined for two consecutive years.
The party also criticised last year’s explanation that linked poor results to stricter invigilation. “Last year, Government blamed the poor results on stricter invigilation,” the NPP recalled. It pointed out that invigilation was equally strict this year, with even more examination cancellations, yet performance improved in three subjects. The party therefore concluded that the explanation no longer holds. “This year invigilation was just as strict, with even more cancellations, and three subjects went up. That explanation has run out,” the statement emphasised.
Focus on teaching and learning
The NPP argues that the government should focus instead on the factors that directly influence students’ ability to learn and succeed in examinations. According to the party, academic performance is shaped by the quality of teaching, instructional time, learning materials, attendance and the support available to students—not by a single factor that is highlighted when results are poor and ignored when they improve.
The party’s concerns come amid reports that 183,233 students who completed secondary school failed to obtain a credit pass in Core Mathematics. The NPP warns that these results could restrict the affected students’ access to university programmes, as well as other education, training and employment opportunities.
It is therefore calling for stronger academic support and remedial interventions for students who do not meet the required grades. The party noted that academic intervention programmes already exist in all public senior high schools, while remedial options are available to candidates seeking to resit their examinations. However, it wants these programmes to receive adequate funding and be expanded to effectively support the large number of students facing academic challenges.
Return performance to 2024 level
The party has also called on the government to take steps to reverse the decline in examination performance. One of its demands is for the academic intervention and remediation programmes to be properly funded “so that fewer students fall below the required grades next year and performance returns to at least the 2024 level.”
The NPP says the issue is not simply about examination supervision but about what happens in the classroom long before students sit the final examination.
It is also urging government to provide clear pathways for the 183,233 affected WASSCE candidates through remedial education, TVET, apprenticeships and job-training opportunities. The party argues that the immediate response should focus on ensuring that poor examination results do not become a dead end for thousands of young people.
