Association of Private schools accuse WAEC of ‘serious discrepancies’ in 2026 BECE grades

The Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) has expressed serious concerns over discrepancies in the provisional results of the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). In a recent press release, Kennedy Donkor, General Secretary of GNAPS, urged WAEC to swiftly conduct an audit and reconciliation of the affected results.

GNAPS has received numerous reports from member schools across Ghana, highlighting inconsistencies in the results distributed to candidates. These issues include the awarding of grades for subjects not taken by candidates, results not reflecting the candidates' actual academic performance, and unexplained failures. One specific case cited by GNAPS involved a student who registered for and sat the Ghanaian Language in Twi but received a grade in Ewe, a subject they did not register for or write.

Such instances are not isolated, with similar reports arising from various regions in the country. GNAPS maintains that these discrepancies are administrative and technical errors in result processing, which, if unaddressed, could unfairly deprive deserving students of the grades they rightfully earned. The association has called on WAEC to perform an urgent review and correction of these discrepancies, ensuring that each candidate receives results accurately reflecting their actual performance.

Furthermore, GNAPS emphasized the need for results to be awarded based solely on merit, without any bias towards public or private school attendance. The organization expressed particular alarm over the unusually high number of failures among candidates from private schools, noting that these failures often starkly contrasted with the candidates' continuous assessment scores, terminal examinations, and mock examination performances.

GNAPS is particularly worried about the timing of these discrepancies, as the released grades are currently being used by students to make crucial decisions regarding school selections. The association warned that inaccurate grades could significantly impact students' future academic trajectories, as placement in senior high schools and technical institutions largely depends on the grades received.

GNAPS is actively collecting and documenting complaints from its nationwide membership. Should WAEC fail to rectify the issues and amend the affected results, GNAPS has stated that its leadership will convene to discuss subsequent collective actions. The 2026 BECE provisional results have recently been released, and thousands of candidates are expected to rely on these grades for placement in higher education institutions.