Over 500,000 final-year Senior High School students across Ghana have begun this year’s West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), starting with the Oral English paper.
The 2026 examination marks Ghana’s return to the regional WASSCE system alongside other West African countries after years of conducting separate examinations due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking on Ahotor Adekyee Mu Nsem, hosted by Citizen Kofi Owusu, the Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mr. Daniel Fenyi, disclosed that some practical examinations had already commenced prior to the official start date.
According to him, candidates offering Clothing and Textiles, Science, and other practical-oriented subjects began their examinations earlier, while the theory papers officially start today.
Mr. Fenyi explained that the Oral English paper lasts between 40 and 45 minutes and forms part of the examination timetable.
He revealed that a total of 509,862 candidates are sitting for this year’s examination, comprising 225,274 boys and 284,588 girls across 1,020 examination centres nationwide.
He further indicated that candidates are expected to write a minimum of seven subjects, including at least three elective papers. The examination is scheduled to end on June 19, 2026.
“Not every student will be writing papers every day because elective subjects differ from one candidate to another. Even at the university level, students offering Bachelor of Science programmes do not write examinations every day,” he explained.
Mr. Fenyi also observed that the number of female candidates continues to exceed that of males, similar to the trend recorded during the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). He expressed hope that the trend would continue at the tertiary level.
Touching on examination malpractice, Mr. Fenyi noted that lessons had been learnt from incidents recorded during previous BECE and WASSCE examinations.
He stated that some cases of malpractice involved teachers, invigilators, and even members of certain communities, stressing the need for all stakeholders to support efforts aimed at ensuring credible and malpractice-free examinations this year.
Mr. Fenyi added that the Ghana Education Service has intensified sensitisation and enforcement efforts to safeguard the integrity of the 2026 WASSCE. According to him, the GES launched a nationwide campaign in May 2026 to curb examination malpractice following concerns over cheating in previous years.
He described the examination as an important national assessment used to measure the competence and confidence of students. Although he admitted that “one or two malpractice cases” could occur because education involves human activities, he stressed that strict measures have been put in place to address such incidents.
According to him, the GES does not re-engage individuals convicted of examination malpractice, warning that any candidate or official found guilty of such offences could face serious consequences.
Mr. Fenyi therefore advised students, teachers, and invigilators to avoid examination malpractice and uphold the integrity of the examination process.
Story by Stephen Kwaku Owusu Mintah
