‘BECE is now more or less a placement examination’ – Daniel Fenyi

Daniel Fenyi, the Head of the Public Relations Unit of the Ghana Education Service (GES), argues that the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) should now primarily be considered a placement examination. This perspective is in contrast to the traditional view of the BECE as a test determining whether a child can advance to senior high school (SHS).

Fenyi clarifies that access to SHS is inherently a right for every child, and the placement system is structured to accommodate qualified students based on available spaces, their examination results, and their choices. During an appearance on Joy FM’s Newsnight on September 9, Fenyi emphasized that the BECE no longer dictates a student's progression to SHS, as progression is a fundamental right for the child.

Instead, the main concern becomes identifying an appropriate school and program based on the available capacity and the candidate's preferences. Consequently, students may be placed in various schools depending on the available spaces and their exam results. Fenyi underscores that the placement system's primary goal is to guarantee that no qualified child is denied access to SHS.

The system prioritizes the children's right to senior high education, which is not a privilege but a guaranteed right. This commentary emerges as there are growing concerns and complaints from parents and candidates about challenges they face in the current CSSPS placement process, especially in relation to school choices, boarding arrangements, and access to popular institutions.

Dr. Kingsley Agyemang, Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South, has criticized the government's approach of allowing students to choose their SHS after receiving their BECE results as a "backward approach."