Govt allocates certain marking percentage for public school BECE students – GNACOPS Director

The National Director of the Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS), Enoch Kwasi Gyetuah has alleged that the government allocates certain marking percentages for public Junior High School BECE candidates.

Citing discrimination against Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) students from private Junior High Schools, he said the central government always favour public students than their colleagues in the private sector.

In an interview monitored by GhanaEducation.org, he said if the government  can reserve 30% placement for public schools in Category A schools, we can conclude that they can also allocate a certain marking percentage for them.”

Meanwhile, the management of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) in 2021 denied a claim by the GNACOPS Director that the Basic Education Certificate (BECE) scripts of private school students were marked down.

Speaking on Citi FM’s Eyewitness News show, a spokeswoman for the Examinations Council, Madam Agnes Teye Cudjoe said the wild allegations raised by Mr Enoch Kwasi Gyetuah lack evidence and proof.

“I am a bit surprised by the allegations by GNACOPS because the BECE scripts of public or private schools are not marked differently. We do not have different index numbers for private schools and public schools,” she stated.

Explaining the process of the national examination papers marking, Mrs Agnes told the host of Eyewitness News, Umaru Sanda Amadu the scripts only have candidates’ names and index numbers and not their school names.

“We have over 10,000 WAEC examiners who mark the BECE School scripts so how do you get these examiners together and tell them that these are the list of private schools marked down differently from public schools

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is a credible institution and I don’t think we will go that mile to mark private schools’ BECE papers down,” the Exams Council’s spokesperson told Cowboy journalist, Umaru Sanda.

Her comment comes after the Executive Director of the Private Schools Council, Obengfo Gyetuah on the Citi Breakfast show said WAEC deliberately marked private schools to give public schools an advantage in school placement.

“Most of the private school students have been marked down, and we are calling for re-marking and even calling for an independent body to go into that. There’s even discrimination in the aspect of the school placement,” he stated.

Enoch added, “30% placement has been allocated to public students which means that if we write the same exam, and I am coming from a public school, I will be placed before someone from a private school despite the grades we have

If you look at the trend, you will realize that we have an enrolment of about 40% at Class 6, but as they transit to JHS, the number reduces drastically because parents have realized there is a 30% allocation to public schools.”

Obengfo Kwasi Gyetuah aside from 2021 BECE papers remarking consequently has called for transparency in the school placement, which he said has been skewed to benefit prospective students from government basic schools.