2022 BECE cut-off point or pass mark not aggregate 25
The cut-off point for BECE is in the news again. Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum whiles granting an interview on Pure 95.7 FM monitored by Ghana Education News in 2020 disclosed that “the past administrations introduced the cut-off point which was aggregate 25 to contain enrollment in Senior High Schools.”
Since the current government took over the administration of Ghana, the cut-off point has been removed, making it possible for students who obtain up to an aggregate of 48 to be admitted into Free SHS.
All the key details he gave are still relevant as far as the 2022 BECE examination to be written in October 2022 is. The scraping of the cut-off point is just one of the key changes introduced to ensure every student who writes the 2022 BECE gains admission into Senior High Schools in 2023.
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Since 2017, the Akuffo Addo-led government has scrapped the infamous BECE cut-off point or pass mark for admission into Senior High Schools. This, however, does not mean some students do not miss the glorious opportunity. In some instances, some candidates had to resit the BECE as private candidates to make good raw score grades that do not fall below scores needed for placement into secondary schools.
The BECE cut-off point or pass mark was removed to ensure all students who complete Junior High School get the chance to access secondary education and Free Senior High School (Free SHS) for that matter.
This brought a sigh of relief to many students, and the 2021 batch of BECE will not be an exception. Those who will write the BECE this year are expected to go through the admission process based on their raw score without any hindrance however, nearly every year, some set of students fail to gain admission for failing Mathematics or Integrated Science.
The minister during the interview in 2020 furthered that previous governments opted for the cut-off point as a result of insufficient facilities. The government has therefore initiated several infrastructure projects to provide additional classroom blocks as dormitories to improve the double-track system to increase the number of students enrolled in each school.
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He added that the NPP-led government is dealing with the inefficiencies to ensure all BECE candidates who complete basic school and write the Basic Education Certificate Examination have a high chance of gaining admission into Senior High School to enjoy Free SHS.
“There was never a qualification other than what was called cut-off, and the cut-off was based on space availability, but for now, there is no pass mark” He added.
In his submission, he explained that the cut-off point did not mean a basic school graduate has failed the exams but rather it was about the insufficient space in the nearly 721 public senior high schools in the country.
“The aggregate 25 cut-off point situation wasn’t so much about you have failed the examination, it was about there is no space for you”, he added.
To deal with the cut-off point and increase accessibility, the ministry opted for the double-track system currently implemented by the GES and MoE. This system has ensured that candidates who complete JHS are enrolled to continue their academic education at the secondary level.
What is the BECE cut-off point for 2021 Graduates?
2022 BECE cut-off point or pass mark is not aggregate 25 and this is an established fact way back in 2017. Per the new system put in place by the Ghana Education Service, there is no cut-off point for BECE. Previously, it was an aggregate of 25. Although the results released each year are graded from 1 to 9 per subject, the school placement is done using the candidate’s raw score.
How does BECE raw score determine your admission into SHS?
With the raw score system introduced by GES, a BECE graduate is placed in a secondary school based on the actual exam scores obtained after the BECE result is released. The best six subjects made up of the core and elective subjects are added up to get the raw score for a candidate. Category A schools will often require a higher raw score to increase a student’s chances of admission.
How is the BECE grading done?
Candidates are graded based on their performance in the external examination (objective and written) and Continuous (Internal) Assessment marks provided by the schools. A nine-point numerical scale is used in grading the candidates with Grade 1 denoting the highest performance and Grade 9 the lowest.
If you want o understand how the BECE raw score used for placing students is calculated, we advise you to take a look at 2022 School Placement: How is the School Placement Raw Score Calculated?
This however does not mean BECE candidates should not study and prepare very well for the BECE because the competition is getting tougher. If you do not put in your best, you may pass the examination but fail to get placed in your preferred school.
Source: GhanaEducation.Org