The Executive Director of Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch), Kofi Asare, has argued that the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) no longer serves the purpose for which it was originally introduced, following the implementation of the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy.
According to Mr. Asare, the examination has shifted from being a tool for determining who qualifies for secondary education to primarily serving as a placement mechanism for students entering senior high schools.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, he explained that before the introduction of Free SHS, the BECE fulfilled two key functions within Ghana’s education system.
He noted that the examination was first used to determine which students qualified for admission into senior high school through a cut-off point, while its second role was to assign successful candidates to various second-cycle institutions. In addition, the BECE certificate served as proof that a student had successfully completed junior high school.
“Before Free SHS, the BECE had two major purposes. It determined who qualified for secondary school through the cut-off point of 36, and it also determined school placement. It also served as certification that a student had completed JHS,” he explained.
Mr. Asare said the introduction of the Free SHS policy during the 2017/2018 academic year fundamentally changed the purpose of the examination.
He explained that Ghana has since embraced the view that secondary education should be the minimum level of education attained by every citizen, making access to senior high school far less restrictive than it was before the policy was introduced.
According to him, statistics over the years show that approximately 98 percent of BECE candidates qualify for placement into senior high schools, reducing the examination’s significance as a selection tool.
As a result, he believes the BECE’s primary function today is to determine where students are placed based on their academic performance and school choices, rather than deciding whether they can proceed to secondary education.
Mr. Asare’s remarks come at a time when stakeholders are actively debating reforms to Ghana’s pre-tertiary education system, including proposed changes to the curriculum, assessment methods and the future role of national examinations in students’ academic progression.