The WAEC-administered Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) is a national examination for Ghanaian learners in Junior High School (JHS).
The examination is an annual Junior High School exiting exam. Students who sit for the exam are required to go through 3 years of Junior High School education.
The 2023 BECE Date and Timetable
Per the Ghana Education Service (GES) calendar for the 2023 academic year, the examination will be administered to learners in September 2023.
What Subjects Will Be Administered to Students?
In all, 9 subjects will be administered over a period of 5 days, thus Monday to Friday. On the first four days of the examination, students will write two subjects each, while the 9th and final subject is written on the last day.
Is the timetable and date for the examination out?
No, the West African Examination Council (WAEC) is yet to release the official timetable for the 2023 BECE. The release of the timetable for the 2023 BECE will come with the dates and the time for the examination.
However, it is more likely that the 2023 BECE will be written in the second week of September.
The subjects candidates are examined in are as follows.
READ: 20 BECE Composition Questions for JHS Students and BECE Candidates
English Language
The English Language paper tests students on grammar plus lexis and structures (Objective test), literature, composition, and comprehension among others.
Social Studies: The Social Studies paper is also made up of two broad sections, thus the subjective and objective test papers.
Integrated Science: This subject requires students to take 40 objective test questions, one compulsory practical test, and other subjective test questions.
Mathematics: The Mathematics test paper covers objective test and subjective test papers.
Basic Design and Technology (BDT) thus Home Economics and Pre Technical Skills options
Religious and Moral Education (RME): The RME paper consists of broad sections of subjective and objective test papers.
French and Ghanaian Language papers are the two extra language papers administered by WAEC. The Ghanaian language paper covers several sections, such as culture, grammar, composition, and comprehension questions.
How is the BECE graded?
Prior to 2017, the BECE pass mark was based on the aggregate obtained by a student in the examination. Today, the raw score is an important determinant of a candidate’s performance and is used to determine the placement of students into Second cycle schools across the country.
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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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