Attention: 2024 BECE subjects to be reduced to 5 – GES

There will be a reduction in the number of courses offered on the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) from nine to five beginning in 2024, according to a representative from the Ghana Education Service (GES). This will affect pupils preparing to enter Junior High School.

The goal of the change, according to Prince Charles Agyemang-Duah, Director of the Schools and Instructions Division of the Ghana Education Service, is to make the learning and examination environments more focused and relevant for pupils.

The previous nine subjects were considered excessive, according to Agyemang-Duah, and some of them seemed repetitious and redundant. Consequently, “Our World Our People” is no longer included in the course requirements.

He elaborated by saying that students would perceive the course as punishing because, upon closer inspection, there was a lot of overlap with social studies.

We came to the realisation that there were too many subjects for pupils to acquire at any one time, and that some of those subjects amounted to little more than repetition.

Because it appears to be redundant and covers the same material in both the social studies and Our World, Our People classes, the former has been eliminated from the curriculum.

In an interview with Accra-based MX24, Prince Agyemang-Duah, the Director of Schools, stated, “The goal is to ensure that learning is not perceived as a punishment for children but rather as a meaningful and productive experience.”

A deliberate and planned approach to curriculum creation is evident in the five disciplines that candidates will henceforth be tested in beginning with the 2024 BECE, he said. Therefore, candidates will be required to write essays on five different topics in 2024.

The West African Examinations Council administers the BECE, which does double duty as a certification exam and an entrance exam for senior high schools. Both the internal assessment and the external exam contribute to the final score.

A total of 70% of the evaluation is based on the external examination, while 30% is from the Continuous Assessment. To participate in this test, students must be in their third year in a GES-approved junior high school.