How to do the 2023 BECE School Selection the right way

The MoE has disclosed that BECE graduates will start the school selection on 23rd August and that the closing date for the selection and submission is 4th September 2023.

Every school selected is important because the candidate can be placed there. Schools chosen for a candidate based on taste and preference and not the academic strength of the candidate will very often backfire. Do not put your selves undue stress after making the wrong choices.

If your academic strength cannot take you Pressec, Accra Girls, Accra Academy, Aburi Girls, and the like, do not go choosing them or else it will turn into a failed attempt and no placement at all.

Do you know how to choose schools the right way in the 2023 BECE School Selection?

If not, keep reading as we offer you the right updates and information before making choices.

We need to first understand some basic details and find answers to some questions. Before we explain how to choose schools the right way, the 2023 BECE School Selection offers basic smart rules and tips for parents and candidates. Let us look at the following issues first.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the 2023 BECE School Choice and Selection

1. How many subjects will be considered in determining a candidate’s placement into a secondary school?

Although candidates are examined in Nine (9) subjects, six out of the nine subjects will play a critical role in the final determination of the school you are placed in. This means candidates must take all subjects seriously and do well in all, especially the four core subjects.

The CORE SUBJECTS are

• English Language
• Mathematics
• Integrated Science
• Social Studies

READ: 2023 BECE School selection: You can miss all 6 schools so be careful

The Electives Are

• ICT
• Ghanaian Language
• French
• BDT
• RME

Candidates will have the option to choose schools from the following: Secondary schools, technical schools, and STEM schools.

How will the raw scores be determined for placing a candidate in a chosen school?

a. The actual raw score obtained in each of the core subjects will be added up. The raw scores of two other subjects from the remaining five called the elective subjects will be added to the total obtained from the core subjects.

Candidates need to know that they will be placed in a school they chose based on their performance in the CORE SUBJECTS FIRST. This is then followed by their output in the ELECTIVE subjects.

If two can or more candidates score an aggregate of 6, their performance in the core subjects will play a critical role in their placement. If one performs well in the CORE and the other performs well in the Electives. The candidate with good CORE subject performance will be favoured during the school placement.

Take the two candidates below. Alpha got six ones with four of them being the core subjects while Beta scored 7 ones. two of the 1s scored were core subjects whiles the other five were elective subjects. Using the aggregates which is calculated by adding the grades in RED in the table below Alpha scored 06 (1+1+1+1+1+1) but Beta obtained 9 (1+1+2+3+1+1).

When the raw scores obtained are also used in this case Alpha scored just 6 once obtained a raw score of 507 which is higher than Beta’s 506.

How to do the 2023 BECE School Selection the right way

How to choose schools the right way in the 2023 BECE School Selection and basic smart rules for parents and candidates.

1. Choose the schools you want to be considered for carefully.
2. It is NOT compulsory to choose your first choice from category A. Make no mistake. The competition in category A is tough. If your mock results showed that you hardly cross the 400 raw score mark, be careful when choosing a school in Category A.
3. Candidates who often score between 320 and 380 can start making their school choices from category B. These are not bad schools in any way. Note that the schools are in various categories because of the facilities they have and not their performance at the WASSCE. Again the teachers in each school are equally good, and any serious candidate placed in a Category B or C school can still pass the WASSCE confidently.
4. We recommend that to avoid unnecessary competition, candidates with MOCK Raw Scores between 280 and 320 can choose their first choice from category B and the rest from C and D.
5. Parents should save themselves the self-imposed stress by not choosing schools for candidates based on the taste and prestige attached to the school. Instead, choose schools because you know your candidate very well and his or her performance merits the school. If parents make the mistake of just choosing schools because they like such a school and want their wards to be there, but the candidate is not academically cut out for such a school, the possibility of the candidate missing all choices increases. Note that every category has competition.
6. There is more competition for Boarding Schools hence watch that. If you are planning to be a boarder or you want your ward to gain admission as a boarder, the competition will be even greater.
7. Make choices from schools that offer more programmes. This is based on basic maths. The more programmes the school offers the more students it is likely to admit or enrol. This increases the basic chance of gaining admission if the above are also considered.

READ: 12 pieces of advice for 2023 BECE candidates who want to pass the exam

Candidates with guidance from parents/guardians and school authorities;

a) Must choose Six(6) schools(1st – 6th choices) in all.

b) Must select programmes and accommodation for each selected school.

c) Must choose a compulsory day as 6th choice (Catchment Area School) or choose boarding school from the list schools in Appendix 3

d) Must indicate ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to accept or decline to opt for a cluster.

e) Candidates who wish to offer purely TVET Programmes must select all six (6) TVETS schools from CATEGORY A, B and C as Day or Boarding

READ: 2023 School Selection Form: Download Here

f) Cannot choose more than one (1) School from Category A

g) Cannot select more than two (2) schools from Category B

h) May select five (5) choices from Category C and One (1) from Category D (Day) or Appendix 3 (Special Boarding)

Selection of School by Candidates
BECE candidates choose their preferred schools in consultation with their parents/guardians and their school authorities, using the school register provided for that year by GES.

Each student is required to make six (6) choices. Students must indicate their preferred schools in descending order (i.e. from the most preferred to the least preferred); their preferred programme of study (General Science, General Arts, Business, etc); and their preferred residential status (Day or Boarding), for each of their first three choices.

The new feature of 2023 is the CLUSTER placement ad on. With this, if a candidate chooses yes, he or she will be considered for placement into other schools in the same category in case he or she is displaced from the choice made from that category.

Additionally, students are to select one Technical School and Programme. Technical Schools have all been put in Category E. The student may select a Technical School with a Day or Boarding residential option as preferred, or as available.

READ: 2023 School Selection Form: Download Here

Also, candidates are to select a school with compulsory Day Status and it must be a school from category D. The school chosen must also be within the candidate’s catchment area, so that the student can conveniently commute to the School, as a DAY STUDENT.

Where a school is oversubscribed for a particular programme by students with similar aggregates, a Tie-Breaking System is employed to determine the placement, using the following parameters:

a. The number of Grade Ones

For example, If 300 students with Aggregate 6 are competing for Science in School A and there are only 120 available slots for Science, the ranking will be done such that those with Nine Ones will gain admission, followed by those with Eight Ones, and so on.

b. Raw Score
If there is a further need to break a tie, this will be done in descending order with respect to the raw scores obtained.

c. Subject performance
A further tie-breaking, where necessary, will then follow taking into consideration the best grades obtained in the Core Subjects, in a manner as follows:
 English, then
 Mathematics, then
 Integrated Science, then
 Social Studies.

READ: 2023 School Selection Form: Download Here

Parents and candidates should take all these into consideration when making choices. Candidates should work very hard in the exam hall and make good grades to be able to stand the competition for placement.