The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has strongly refuted claims that candidates from private basic schools were unfairly disadvantaged during the marking of the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
Addressing concerns raised by private school associations, WAEC Head of Public Affairs, John Kapi, stated that the examining body maintains absolute neutrality and does not distinguish between public and private school candidates during evaluation.
Unified Standards Across All Candidates
Responding to public allegations, Mr. Kapi emphasized that all candidates undergo an identical assessment process governed by uniform national standards.
"We do not make a distinction between private schools and public schools when it comes to assessment because all of them are supposed to have studied under the same syllabus, written the same standard examination, and all of them have had their scripts marked using the same standard marking scheme," Mr. Kapi explained.
Blind Marking System Ensures Fairness
Addressing how scripts are evaluated, WAEC noted that the structure of the marking exercise makes deliberate bias technically impossible.
Examiners receive scripts identified solely by center numbers and candidate index ranges, concealing the identity and institutional origin of every student.
Script Anonymity: Examiners have no access to school names or candidates' personal details.
Database Isolation: School identification codes are linked only within the secure central database, inaccessible during the script grading phase.
Standardized Scoring: Standardized scoring rubrics are applied uniformly across all answer booklets nationwide.
"Even for the examiners who are marking the scripts, they cannot tell which one is a private school and which one is a public school," Mr. Kapi added.
Private School Association Demands Independent Review
The clarification from WAEC comes following claims made by the Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS). Executive Director of GNACOPS, Obenfo Nana Kwasi Gyetuah, alleged that grades awarded to numerous private school students failed to align with their continuous assessment records over the years.
GNACOPS has called on the Ministry of Education to set up an independent review committee to audit the 2026 BECE marking process and requested access to candidate scripts for independent verification.
WAEC Open to Investigating Specific Complaints
In response to the association's demands, WAEC affirmed its willingness to review formal petitions from schools or candidates who believe their results do not accurately reflect their performance.
Mr. Kapi urged aggrieved parties to present concrete evidence rather than generalized statements:
"If they have concerns, they should come to us. We are ready to listen to them and address those concerns," he stated.
Addressing separate reports claiming that some students received results for subjects they did not sit for, Mr. Kapi described such instances as "strange," emphasizing that WAEC requires specific candidate index details to conduct thorough investigations.
