WAEC Rejects Claims of Bias in 2026 BECE Results Amid Private School Demands for Independent Review

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has strongly dismissed allegations of bias and unfair marking of private school candidates in the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). Following the release of results on July 29, 2026, the Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS) and the Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) raised concerns over a perceived disparity between students' continuous assessments and their final exam grades. These associations have signaled a potential showdown with the Ministry of Education, including a planned formal petition for an independent review scheduled for August 7, 2026, to address allegations of unfair assessment and grading inconsistencies.

In response to the mounting pressure, WAEC’s Head of Public Affairs, John Kapi, emphasized that all candidates are evaluated as a single cohort using a uniform marking scheme and syllabus. He clarified that the stanine grading system is applied consistently across both public and private institutions to ensure objectivity. While WAEC expressed openness to a professional independent audit of the results, it specifically rejected GNACOPS' demand for associations to conduct their own direct script audits. Kapi stated that any requests for remarking must follow established protocols and come from individual schools or candidates rather than umbrella organizations, noting that scripts are often swapped during marking to prevent bias.

Other educational stakeholders have called for a more measured approach to the controversy. The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) urged parents and stakeholders to remain calm and avoid hasty public condemnation of WAEC. GNAT General Secretary Thomas Tanko Musah emphasized that concerns should be addressed through formal channels to protect the mental well-being of candidates from excessive public pressure. Simultaneously, education advocacy group Eduwatch has highlighted the need for an independent regulator to oversee assessment bodies like WAEC, arguing that such a body would ensure a more transparent and accessible appeals process for future examinations.

Amid the marking controversy, over 620,000 BECE graduates have begun the process of selecting their preferred Senior High Schools (SHS) under newly revised guidelines. Under this policy introduced by the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service (GES), students now select their second-cycle schools after receiving their results. This shift aims to help students make more informed choices based on their actual qualifications, potentially reducing the number of students with uncompetitive grades being placed in oversubscribed Category A schools. As the selection process concludes, the focus remains on whether the petitions from private school associations will lead to a review of the results or if the current grading will stand for the 2026 cohort.