The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has confirmed the death of a candidate sitting for the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) following a road accident in the Upper West Region.
Speaking to Citi News, WAEC’s Head of Public Affairs, John Kapi noted that the candidate was travelling from his village to Wa to write the examination when the fatal accident occurred.
Mr. Kapi, however, said WAEC could not immediately verify other reported deaths linked to the ongoing examination.
According to him, the Council is still awaiting official reports from its regional offices before confirming those cases.
“What I am aware of is in the Upper West Region where a candidate moving from his village to Wa to write the examination was involved in an accident and unfortunately he passed on. The others, I cannot confirm because we have not received any report from our regional representatives yet,” he said.
Meanwhile, he confirmed that seven candidates sitting for the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) have been arrested for engaging in various forms of examination malpractice.
More than 620,000 candidates are writing this year’s BECE nationwide. A total of 620,141 candidates from 20,395 schools are expected to sit the examination, which is being conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
The examination is scheduled to end on May 11 commenced today, Monday May 4 across all centres within the country.
