Basic Education Certificate Examination

Last updated

The Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) is the main examination to qualify students for admission into secondary and vocational schools in Ghana, [1] and Nigeria. [2] [3] It is written after three years of junior secondary education. [4] It is administered by the Ghana Education Service under the Ministry of Education. In Nigeria, it is administered by the state ministry of education in each state under the supervision of the National Examinations Council (NECO). NECO directly organizes examinations for Unity Schools, Armed Forces Secondary Schools, and other Federal Government schools. Candidates in the third year of junior high schools approved by the Ghana Education Service are eligible for the examination. It is conducted annually in June (Ghana and, May/June (Nigeria).

Contents

All subjects questions and answers

Tested subjects (Ghana)

(Optional)


Tested subjects (Nigeria)

Registration

Schools approved by the Ghana Education Service, or NECO are eligible to register students for the BECE each year. The six-week entry period begins in October and ends in November. Participating schools upload their Statement of Entries and School Choice Files via the Internet for processing. Continuous Assessment Scores are submitted to the council on compact discs.

Candidate grading and selection

The examination consists of multiple-choice and written questions, and Continuous (Internal) Assessment marks provided by the schools. In Ghana, candidates are graded on a nine-point scale, with Grade 1 for highest performance and Grade 9 for lowest.

From 2017–Date, Candidates in Nigeria have been graded on a non-linear 5 point scale from

Before 2017, it was graded on a non-linear 4 point scale:

The Ghana Education Service uses its Computerized School Selection and Placement System to place successful BECE examinees in senior high schools, technical institutes and vocational institutions. In Nigeria, each school determines the appropriate placement of students in either Science, Arts, Commercial or vocational study tracks based on their BECE results.

Review of scripts

Scripts (graded tests) are kept for three months, then destroyed. During this time, they may be examined, for a fee, though by the authorization of a school's head or its accredited representative.

Certification

Certificates for successful candidates are produced within a month after results are released, and are sent to schools for collection by individual candidates. Certificates lost or damaged after collection are not replaced. [5]

2015 Cancellation

The 2015 BECE began Monday, June 15, with the English Language and Religious and Moral Education papers, and was scheduled to end Friday, June 19, with the Information Communication Technology (ICT) paper. [6] On Wednesday, June 17, two days into the examinations, the West Africa Examinations Council cancelled five subjects, claiming the papers had been 'compromised' and that cancellation was necessary to safeguard both the integrity of the examinations and subsequent certificates. [7] In its official statement, WAEC explained that leakage of the test was so widespread, some questions had been shared on the WhatsApp messaging platform. [8]

The following papers were cancelled:

The cancelled papers were re-administered on June 29 and June 30, 2015. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Certificate of Secondary Education</span> British public examinations, generally taken aged 15-16

The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of particular subjects, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. However, private schools in Scotland often choose to follow the GCSE system in England.

The Leaving Certificate Examination, commonly referred to as the Leaving Cert or (informally) the Leaving, is the final exam of the Irish secondary school system and the university matriculation examination in Ireland. It takes a minimum of two years' preparation, but an optional Transition Year means that for those students it takes place three years after the Junior Cycle examination. These years are referred to collectively as "The Senior Cycle". Most students taking the examination are aged 16–19; in excess of eighty percent of this group undertake the exam. The Examination is overseen by the State Examinations Commission. The Leaving Certificate Examinations are taken annually by approximately 60,000 students.

In the Scottish secondary education system, the Higher is one of the national school-leaving certificate exams and university entrance qualifications of the Scottish Qualifications Certificate (SQC) offered by the Scottish Qualifications Authority. It superseded the old Higher Grade on the Scottish Certificate of Education (SCE). Both are normally referred to simply as "Highers".

Queen's College, Lagos, is a government-owned girls' secondary (high) school with boarding facilities, situated in Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria. Often referred to as the "sister college" of King's College, Lagos, it was founded on October 10, 1927, when Nigeria was still a British colony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West African Examinations Council</span> Examination body in West Africa

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is an examination board established by law to determine the examinations required in the public interest in the English-speaking West African countries, to conduct the examinations and to award certificates comparable to those of equivalent examining authorities internationally. Established in 1952, the council has contributed to education in Anglophone countries of West Africa, with the number of examinations they have coordinated, and certificates they have issued. They also formed an endowment fund, to contribute to education in West Africa, through lectures and aid to those who cannot afford education. Since established it continues to be one of the biggest and most globally recognized exams in West Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Education in Nigeria</span> Overview of education in Nigeria

Education in Nigeria is overseen by the Federal Ministry of Education. The local authorities take responsibility for implementing state-controlled policy regarding public education and state schools. The education system is divided into Kindergarten, Primary education, Secondary education, and Tertiary education. Nigeria's federal government has been dominated by instability since declaring independence from Britain, and as a result, a unified set of education policies is yet to be successfully implemented. Regional differences in quality, curriculum, and funding characterize the education system in Nigeria. Currently, Nigeria possesses the largest population of out-of-school learning youths in the world. The educational systems in Nigeria are divided into two the public where the student only pays for Parents Teachers Association (PTA) while the private where students pay school fees and some other fees like sports, exam fees, computer fees etc. and they are costly

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Education in Ghana</span> Overview of education in Ghana

Before the arrival of European settlers, who introduced a formal education system addressed to the elites, education in Ghana was mainly informal and based on apprenticeship. Economic activities in pre-colonial Ghana were based on farm produce shared within households and members of each household specialized in providing necessities such as cooking utilities, shelter, clothing, and furniture, and trade with other households was therefore practiced on a very small scale. As such there was no need for employment outside the household that would have otherwise called for disciplines, values, and skills through a formal education system. After colonization, Ghana's economy became a hybrid of subsistence and formal economy.

The West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is a type of standardized test in West Africa. Students who pass the exam receive a certificate confirming their graduation from secondary education. It is administered by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). It is only offered to candidates residing in Anglophone West African countries. The academic school-leaving qualification awarded upon successful completion of the exams is the West African Senior School Certificate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board</span> Nigerian examination board

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is a Nigerian entrance examination board for tertiary-level institutions. The board conducts entrance Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination for prospective undergraduates into Nigerian universities. The board is also charged with the responsibility to administer similar examinations for applicants to Nigerian public and private monotechnics, polytechnics, and colleges of educations. All of these candidates must have obtained the West Africa Senior School Certificate (WASSCE) conducted yearly by the West African Examinations Council, WAEC, or its equivalent, National Examination Council (Nigeria), Senior School Certificate Examination, NECO SSCE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presbyterian Boys' Senior High School</span> Boarding senior high school for boys

Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School (PRESEC) is a secondary boarding school for boys, it is located in Legon, Accra, Ghana. It was founded in 1938, under the auspices of the Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast. The Basel missionary-theologian, Nicholas Timothy Clerk (1862–1961), who served as the first Synod Clerk of the Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast from 1918 to 1932, used his tenure to advocate for the establishment of the secondary school. The school has ties with its sister schools, Aburi Girls' Senior High School and Krobo Girls Senior High School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isolog schools</span> PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATION

Isolog Schools is a private owned institution with a main campus in Akute, Ogun State and another in Ojodu, Lagos State, southern Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Education (Ghana)</span> Ghanaian ministry responsible for education

The Ministry of Education (MOE) is a multiportfolio government ministry of Ghana, responsible for the governance and management of Ghana's education. It is responsible for the national education curriculum, primarily instituted by Ghana Education Service, which is part of the Ministry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaduna State University</span> University in Kaduna

Kaduna State University is located in Kaduna, Kaduna State, Nigeria. It was established in 2004. It has seven faculties with over 39 departments and a library that contains over 17,000 volumes of books. It has two campuses: Kafanchan and Kaduna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Examination Council (Nigeria)</span> Nigerian examination board

The National Examinations Council is an examination body in Nigeria that conducts the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination and the General Certificate in Education in June/July and November/December respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lumen Christi International High School, Uromi</span>

Lumen Christi International High School, Uromi is a catholic school founded in 1986 by Rev. Dr. P.E Ekpu. The school is located at Uromi North East Edo state, Nigeria.

Anwar Ul-Islam Girls' High School was founded as the Anwar ul-Islam Movement's post primary institution for girls. It operates at two levels: Junior and Senior school as Day and Boarding school.

The Salem School, Osu, or the Osu Presbyterian Boys’ Boarding School or simply, Osu Salem, formerly known as the Basel Mission Middle School, is an all boys’ residential middle or junior secondary school located in the suburb of Osu in Accra, Ghana. The Salem School was the first middle school and the first boarding school to be established in Ghana. The school was founded under the auspices of the Basel Mission in 1843 and supervised by three pioneering missionaries and schoolmasters, Jamaican, Alexander Worthy Clerk and Angolan-born Jamaican Catherine Mulgrave together with the German-trained Americo-Liberian George Peter Thompson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ridge Church School</span> Preparatory day school located in Accra, Ghana

The Ridge Church School is an independent and parochial co-educational preparatory day school in Accra, Ghana. Situated between the Gamel Abdul Nasser Avenue and Guinea Bissau Road and opposite the Efua Sutherland Children's Park, it was founded by the Accra Ridge Church in 1957, the year of Ghana's independence from the United Kingdom. The Ridge Church School is located on the premises of the church. It was the first wholly private basic school to be established in modern Ghana. The Accra Ridge Church was the first international solely English-speaking Protestant church in Ghana. The school is inter-denominational Christian, holding ties to the Anglican, Methodist and Presbyterian churches, that assign chaplains to both the church and school. The school runs a ten–year programme from kindergarten to lower primary through upper primary to junior high and culminating in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) administered by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). The school largely follows the prescribed curriculum and syllabus of the Ghana Education Service (GES).

In Nigeria, the academic grading system scales from A to F (fail). Below is the grading system of Nigerian schools.

Examination Boards in Nigeria are organizations that are given the mandate to conduct placement examinations in form of learning assessment for Nigerian students. This assessment aims at admitting the students into different institutions of learning at different levels of the Nigerian educational system. The major educational boards in Nigeria are Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), National Examination Council (NECO), West African Examination Council (WAEC) and the National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB), Others include International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE). The National Board for Educational Measurement is a professional organization which oversees the assessment processes to ensure that the assessment process is just. It is an organization which checks the activities of the examination boards. This body also is involved in educational measurement by measuring how standardized tests are and the viability of performance-based assessments. Thay also help the Nigerian examination boards in assessment design and implementation.

References

  1. ↑ "Basic Education Certificate Examinations". WAEC Ghana. The West African Examinations Council, Ghana. Archived from the original on 2 September 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  2. ↑ "Basic Education Certificate Examinations". My NECO Examd. National Examination Council, Nigeria. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  3. ↑ "BECE 2023: Basic Education Certificate Examination". 2021-10-20. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
  4. ↑ "Ghana Education System". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  5. ↑ "Basic Education Certificate Examinations". WAEC Ghana. The West African Examinations Council, Ghana. Archived from the original on 2014-05-19. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  6. ↑ Amoh, Emmanuel (15 June 2015). "2015 BECE begins today". TV3 Network. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  7. ↑ Yeboah, Isaac. "WAEC cancels 5 BECE papers". Daily Graphic. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  8. ↑ "WAEC Cancels 5 BECE Papers". The Chronicle. The Ghanaian Chronicle. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  9. ↑ "Re-writing of BECE cancelled papers ends today". Daily Graphic. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.