The 2021 National Standardized Test organized by the Ministry of Education with support from WAEC saw some basic four pupils travelling several kilometres to write the test. In some instances, candidates had to cross rivers to other schools designated as centres to take the test. This arrangement was not only a worrying development but also put our learners in harm’s way.
Going forward, all learners must be allowed to write the 2022 National Standardized Test in their respective schools. The examination should be further decentralized and be taken in various schools.
According to the Ministry of Education, the 2022 test will be written by both learners in public and private basic schools. This is a welcome idea, however, it is hoped that private schools are not tasked to pay for the examinations.
The inclusion of private schools follows concerns raised by the Ghana National Private Schools (GNAPS) and the Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS) of being left out of the first edition of the test.
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“Please, let your so-called test be conducted in the various schools. Stop putting our children in danger by asking them to travel long to write that test!” by a commentator on one of our earlier posts is a good call.
It is hoped that the Ministry of Education and The Ghana Education Service have agreed to include private schools in the 2022 National Standardized Test (NST) and will not overburden parents with any form of fees.
Per the GES policy, learners in public basic schools must not pay examination fees. The learners in private basic schools are Ghanaian children whose parents also pay taxes. All private teachers associations and private school owners associations must ensure they kick against any form of fees that may emanate from the government with regard to the 2022 NST.
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In our part of the world, private schools do not get any service for free from the government. This has been a bad practice by the government since 2017. While BECE candidates from public schools write the examination for free, their friends in private schools pay the full cost of the examination. This practice has been extended to private SHS as well in the WASSCE.
Let us ensure we do not put the learners in harm’s way because of the 2022 National Standardized Test and private schools and pupils are not slapped with any examination fee.
If there are foreigners in public schools who enjoy free basic school in Ghana then, Ghanaian children in private schools deserve to write the examination for free.
Source: Wisdom Hammond
The Ghana Education News Editorial Team is a specialized collective of education researchers, journalists, and policy analysts dedicated to providing high-fidelity reporting on the Ghanaian academic landscape. Serving as a primary bridge between governing bodies—including the Ghana Education Service (GES) and WAEC—and the public, the team leverages over a decade of combined experience to serve students, parents, and educators nationwide.
Lead Architect & Editor-in-Chief
The team is led by Wisdom Kojo Eli Hammond, a distinguished Ghanaian Edu-Tech Entrepreneur, AI Solutions Developer, and Product Architect with over 25 years of cross-disciplinary experience in education, finance, and digital media. Wisdom is the visionary force behind SkulManager, Ghana’s premier school management ecosystem, and the Lead Consultant at Education-News Consult.
A self-taught innovator, professional Web Designer, and regular columnist on GhanaWeb, Wisdom engineered SkulManager.com as the only platform strictly tailored to the GES Curriculum. His technical leadership has redefined educational assessment through a Hybrid Marking Ecosystem, pioneering the BECE and WASSCE Home Mock services—a unique fusion of WAEC-trained human examiners and advanced AI marking engines operational since 2022.
Wisdom’s 360-degree view of institutional challenges is grounded in his tenure as College President and Lecturer at Pinnacle College (Achimota), as well as his background as a school administrator and accountant. He is a dedicated lifelong learner currently advancing his studies at the Accra Institute of Technology (AIT), with academic ties to the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA).
An accomplished author, his works include Returnees of the Dead Forest (UK Published), Simplified Beacon of Light (850+ Q&A), and The Leader in Me. A foundational pillar of the award-winning NGO Human Rights Reporters Ghana (HRRG), Wisdom is committed to building intelligent systems that solve societal problems and prepare the next generation of Ghanaian students for a digital future.
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