The West African Examinations Council has dismissed allegations suggesting that candidates from private schools receive unfair treatment during the marking of the Basic Education Certificate Examination, maintaining that its evaluation framework is impartial, consistent and applied equally to every candidate regardless of their school background.
The Council’s clarification follows concerns raised by the Ghana National Association of Private Schools, which challenged aspects of the provisional 2026 BECE outcomes and requested an independent assessment of the results over claims of possible grading inconsistencies that could influence candidates’ placement into senior high schools.
Speaking during a media engagement in Accra on Thursday, the Head of Public Affairs at WAEC, John Kapi, rejected claims that the examination body intentionally assigns lower grades to learners from private institutions, describing such allegations as inaccurate and unsupported by credible evidence.
Mr Kapi stated that the accusations lacked factual foundation and assured parents, guardians, education stakeholders, school administrators and the wider public that WAEC’s assessment and grading procedures are governed by internationally recognised standards of fairness, reliability, neutrality and professional integrity.
He explained that examination scripts are evaluated without any consideration of whether candidates attended public or private schools, emphasising that all examiners operate under identical marking guidelines and follow the same quality assurance mechanisms established by the Council.
The WAEC official further explained that the BECE adopts the internationally accepted stanine grading model, a system that determines candidates’ grades based on their performance in comparison with the overall achievement of all participants in the examination rather than categorising results according to the type of school attended.
According to him, the structure of the grading system is deliberately designed to promote equal treatment and nationwide consistency, making it impossible for a candidate to be disadvantaged simply because they are enrolled in a private school.
Addressing calls from the Ghana National Association of Private Schools for an independent review of the provisional results, Mr Kapi indicated that the Council would not oppose such a process provided the exercise is conducted professionally and guided by clearly established objectives and procedures.
He encouraged parents, school proprietors and other concerned stakeholders who have questions regarding particular examination outcomes to utilise WAEC’s official review and enquiry channels instead of depending on unverified claims or public speculation.
The disagreement arose after the Ghana National Association of Private Schools released a statement alleging that member schools across all sixteen regions had identified significant variations and possible inconsistencies in the provisional BECE results. The association argued that feedback from school leaders pointed to possible challenges within the grading process and cautioned that such concerns could negatively affect candidates competing for placement into senior high schools through the Computerised School Selection and Placement System.
WAEC, however, reaffirmed the credibility of the examination process, explaining that extensive quality control measures are implemented throughout every phase of the assessment cycle, including script evaluation, moderation, grading and final result compilation, to preserve the reliability and integrity of the examination system.
The Council published the provisional 2026 BECE results on July 29, alongside measures taken against candidates linked to examination irregularities. WAEC announced that the subject results of 601 candidates had been cancelled due to confirmed cases of examination malpractice. It also disclosed that the complete results of 167 candidates had been withheld, while subject results belonging to 2,722 candidates remained pending as investigations into suspected breaches of examination regulations continued.
The examination body assured candidates, parents and the general public that all unresolved cases would be reviewed and concluded after the completion of investigations in line with WAEC’s established rules and procedures.
WAEC maintained that its commitment remains focused on protecting the credibility of Ghana’s examination system through transparent assessment practices, strict quality assurance standards and equal treatment for every candidate.
