MoE and Private Schools sign MoU over BECE 2023 SHS placement

The Ministry of Education (MoE), in the aftermath of a decisive meeting with the leadership of the Private Schools Council, held on November 13, 2023, has agreed on two conditions regarding the 2023 computer school placement.

Announcing the agreement in a social media post sighted by Thisterm.com, the Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS) said in attendance at the meeting was the Minister for Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum.

Agreement

1. Students from private Junior High Schools to public ones for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) will not be considered as public school students for SHS placement due to a breach of West African Examinations Council regulation.

2. Low-cost private schools now qualify for the 30 per cent policy. This means private school students who sit for the BECE will get a share in the 30% placement into ‘Category A’ schools recently reserved for only public school students.

As the way forward, a comprehensive list of affected students and low-cost private schools will be submitted to the Ministry of Education (MoE) emphasizing our commitment to rectifying the situation.

We call on all private schools to stand by for further instructions as we collectively navigate this transformative moment in education,” the leadership of the Private Schools Council said in a communique shared with Thisterm.com.

The agreement comes after the Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) ahead of this year’s school placement called on the Ministry of Education to cancel the 30% second cycle school (SHS) placement policy for public Junior High School BECE students.

President of the GNAPS, Prof Damasus Tuurosong said the policy is discriminating, and a yardstick to deny private second cycle schools the opportunity to admit best performing Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates.

At the 9th General Conference of the Association, he stressed that the 30% school placement policy was not favourable for private schools, saying, it was gradually having dire consequences on enrolments in such schools in the country.

A total of 600,714 candidates, comprising 300,323 boys and 300,391 girls from 18,993 Junior High Schools participated in the 2023 BECE for School Candidates which began on Monday, August 7, 2023, to Friday, August 11, 2023.

About the 2023 BECE for Private Candidates, a total entry figure of 1,743 candidates was recorded. This is made up of 889 males and 854 females. This year’s figure is 5.4% higher than the entry figure of 1,132 for 2022.

The 2023 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) for School Candidates was held at 2,137 examination centres across the country, while 15 centres mainly in the regional capitals were used for the BECE for Private candidates.

To ensure the smooth and successful conduct of the 2023 BECE for School and Private, A total of 2,137 supervisors, 2,000 supervisors and 21,027 invigilators were tasked to oversee the administration of the national examination.