Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare, has encouraged candidates sitting for the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) to remain calm and focus on doing their best, stressing that the examination is only meant for school placement and not a “do-or-die” exercise.
The nationwide examination, which began on Monday, May 4, is being taken by about 620,000 candidates across the country and will run until May 11, with the council reiterating its firm stance against malpractice and urging strict compliance with its rules.
Speaking on TV3’s New Day on Monday, May 4, 2026, Mr Asare said the BECE is designed to determine which category of senior high school a student qualifies for, noting that all schools can provide a pathway to university education.
“BECE is a placement examination. It’s not a do or die,” he said, adding that candidates could be placed in Category A, B, C or D schools depending on their performance.
He stressed that students’ future success depends largely on their own determination and effort rather than the category of school they attend.
Mr Asare also commended the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) for introducing measures aimed at protecting the integrity of examinations and reducing malpractice.
According to him, WAEC has, over the past three to four years, shown “significant will” in implementing mechanisms to prevent cheating and strengthen examination assessment integrity.
He particularly welcomed the decision to prevent invigilators from carrying mobile phones during examinations, describing it as a positive step towards curbing examination leakages.
Explaining how examination malpractice syndicates operate, he alleged that some invigilators usually take photographs of question papers and circulate them to accomplices stationed in school libraries or laboratories, who then distribute answers through other platforms or projection systems used in examination halls.
Mr Asare said restricting access to mobile phones would help disrupt the flow of leaked examination questions at the source. “If you prevent the shot of the question from being taken by an invigilator not having access to mobile phones, then you are trying to cut the flow from the base,” he stated.
However, he cautioned that the effectiveness of the policy would depend largely on strict implementation across all examination centres.
Mr Asare noted that while the directive is commendable, it could fail to achieve the desired impact if enforcement becomes difficult due to the absence of WAEC officials at some centres.
He said effective implementation at all centres would significantly improve examination integrity levels during the 2026 BECE.
