GES lists BECE subjects to be written by JHS students in 2024/2025

In the 2024 year, Mathematics, English Language, Integrated Science, Ghanaian Language and General Knowledge are Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) subjects to be written by final year Junior High School (JHS) students.

The Ghana Education Service (GES) says candidates will also showcase their proficiency in concepts from diverse subjects like Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Social Studies, and Religious and Moral Education.

The Director of Schools and Instructions Division at the Ghana Education Service, Prince Charles Agyemang-Duah in an interview said final year Junior High School students next academic year will write 5 subjects instead of the usual 9.

The GES official said the decision, reached in collaboration with the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NACCA) and various relevant stakeholders, aims to create a more focused and meaningful learning environment.

Agyemang-Duah emphasized that the previous nine subjects were deemed excessive, with some subjects appearing redundant and repetitive. As a result, the subject “Our World Our People” has been eliminated from the curriculum.

The Schools Director explained that upon closer examination, this subject exhibited significant overlap with social studies, making the learning experience appear burdensome and potentially punitive for students.

“We realized that the number of subjects the students learn at a particular stage was too much and there were some subjects that were more or less like repetition.

This subject; Our world our people, has been scrapped because when you look inside that particular course in the curriculum and you compare it to the social studies, it’s like duplication, the same topic here and there”

“The goal is to ensure that learning is not perceived as a punishment for children but rather as a meaningful and productive experience,” The Director of Schools, Prince Agyemang-Duah said in an interview with Accra-based MX24.

He added that “starting 2024 BECE, candidates will now be assessed in five subjects, reflecting a thoughtful and strategic approach to curriculum development. So, in 2024, five subjects are going to be written by the candidates.”

The Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) is both for certification and selection into Senior High Schools in the country. The result of the examination is based on Continuous Assessment and the external examination.

The Continuous Assessment forms 30% whilst the external examination forms 70% of the total assessment. Students in the third year of Junior High School approved by the Service are eligible to register to take part in this examination.