The West African Examinations Council wishes to announce for the information of its stakeholders that the Council has from today, Wednesday, 15th March, 2023, opened the portal for the registration of candidates for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates, 2023.
The registration portal will be closed on Wednesday, 19th April, 2023.
(1) Eligibility
The WASSCE for School Candidates is a school examination and is available to students in the third/final year of Senior High School only. It is therefore against the rules and regulations of the examination for schools to engage in the following activities:
(i) Solicit for students and advertise the WASSCE for School Candidates in any form e.g. in the print, electronic or social media;
(ii) Register students who have not been enrolled in senior high school from their first year through to the third year and do not have the required continuous assessment records. The grading for the WASSCE (SC) is 70% external examination score and 30% continuous assessment score. Students who for one reason or the other transferred from one school to the other should have evidence of the necessary continuous assessment records;
(iii) Register students who are not in final year or are not bona fide students of the school in question. We have received intelligence reports of some students in public schools who move from their schools to private schools to register for the examination because of assurances of obtaining good grades by these schools;
(iv) Register ‘remedial’ students who have previously written the WASSCE (SC) and join some public/accredited private schools in form three for examination purposes only. Such students are being advised to register for the WASSCE for Private Candidates which has been specifically designed for remedial students and offers them the opportunity to register for the number of subjects they wish to take.
We have noted that some schools have commercialised the registration process, putting out banners and enticing prospective candidates to register for the examination in their schools with the promise of good grades. Some of these schools who are charging between GH¢1,200.00 and GH¢6,750.00 are
• Olistar Senior High/Technical School, Abesim
• Gateway SHS, Sunyani
• Lawrence SHS, Sunyani
• First Class SHS, Achimota (A1 assured)
• Martin Luther SHS, Kintampo (No risk of results cancellation, 100% support by teaching staff, 100% WASSCE results assured)
We wish to inform our publics that the approved WAEC registration fee for entry in 7 or 8 subjects is GH¢381.24. This figure is exclusive of the fees for practical or oral tests which range between GH¢14.50 and GH¢19.50 per practical test.
The general public is to note that the sanctions for the registration of nonschool/unqualified candidate(s) for school candidates’ examinations and the fabrication and/or falsification of continuous assessment scores for the candidates are:
(a) De-recognition of the affected school for not less than 1 year;
(b) Report made to the Ministry of Education or the appropriate WAEC Board for disciplinary action against the responsible person(s);
(c) Withholding of the entire results of the non-school/unqualified candidate, pending the outcome of investigation by the appropriate Committee of the Council.
(2) Registration Process for the WASSCE (SC) 2023
The Council has held briefing sessions nationwide for authorities of 978 schools who are expected to present candidates for the examination. During the briefing sessions, it was emphasised that school authorities should take note of the following during the registration process:
(i) Correct spelling of names and arrangement of names in the right order i.e Surname, First Name and Other Names; eg. YEBOAH DANIEL KWABENA
(ii) Confirmation of Date of Birth by candidates before finalisation of the registration process;
(iii) Proper capturing of candidates’ photographs showing candidate’s face without sunglasses or spectacles and both ears; (iv) Registration of candidates for the right subjects.
Candidates are urged to ensure that their bio-data is captured correctly as no amendment of date of birth, re-arrangement/addition or subtraction of names will be entertained after the release of final results and printing of certificates.
(3) Registration of Candidates with Special Educational Needs
The Council will make test accommodation arrangements for candidates who cannot be assessed by the standard procedures set out because of disability or special educational needs. Requests for access arrangements for special needs candidates with accompanying medical reports should be forwarded to the Council by Tuesday, 2nd May, 2023.
(4) Inspection of Schools
As part of measures to ensure test security, the Council has carried out inspection of schools that have requested for accreditation to enable them present candidates for the examination. Some existing schools have also been re-inspected to ensure that they meet the required standards in terms of personnel, infrastructure, equipment and other relevant facilities. Reports received indicate that some of the schools are not operating as regular schools but have been set up for ‘remedial’ examination purposes, thereby demanding high registration fees from candidates, ostensibly to assist them cheat during the examination. The Council will take appropriate action against these schools.
(5) Revised Examination Rules
The Rules and Regulations for dealing with cases of irregularity in the Council’s examinations have been revised. The revision includes new rules on:
(i) Destruction of Exhibits
(ii) Posting Live Questions on the Internet
(iii) Refusal to grant timely access into the school premises
(iv) Misconduct of examination officials
The revised rules are available on the Council’s website and Heads of school are urged to sensitise their candidates on them. The Council will also be embarking on wide sensitisation on these rules to create the needed awareness.
(6) Period of Examination
The examination, which will once again be a Ghana only version of the WASSCE will be conducted from Monday, 31st July to Tuesday, 26th September, 2023. The final timetable for the examination will be made available to all schools and will be:
on the WAEC website as well. Candidates are advised to contact their schools or visit the WAEC website for the accurate timetable. Candidates should refrain from downloading timetables from unverifiable websites.
(2) BECE for School & Private Candidates, 2023
The BECE for School and Private Candidates, 2023 will be administered from Monday, 7th to Friday, 11th August, 2023. The Council will hold briefing sessions for all stakeholders who will be involved in the registration of candidates from Tuesday, 21st to Friday, 24th March, 2023. The registration portal for the registration of eligible candidates will be open from Monday, 27th March to Friday, 28th April, 2023.
As indicated earlier, it is important for all candidates to ensure that their bio data is captured accurately and that they are registered for the correct subjects. School authorities are urged to ensure that they register candidates for the correct Ghanaian Language and Basic Design Technology options. As with the WASSCE (SC), access arrangements will be made for candidates with special educational needs. The revised rules will also apply for the BECE as well. Once again, Heads of School are being cautioned against the registration of unqualified candidates which could lead to the nullification of a candidate’s results.
Conclusion
WAEC wishes to use this opportunity to solicit the support of all stakeholders to ensure the smooth registration of eligible candidates for the two examinations, as this is a key factor in the successful conduct of the examinations and timely release of results.
ISSUED BY THE PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT WAEC 15/03/2023
