Ahead of the BECE and WASSCE registration, stakeholders are asking if the 2023 BECE and WASSCE Registration is Free. The question has popped up for several reasons. The BECE and WASSCE registration fee is not 100% free for both public and private school candidates.
The cost of the two separate examinations can be broadly divided into two. These are [a] The Examination fee charged by WAEC per subject and per candidate and [b] Administrative charges -These are the cost involving data process and entry, transportation of registration details, transfer via the internet, online registration, and internet cost, and passport photos among others.
The examination fees announced by WAEC will be transferred to WAEC per student or per subject however for schools to get students’ details ready during the exam registration, parents would have to pay some additional fees. In most public second-cycle schools, the schools find their own means of taking care of the extra cost incurred in registering candidates for the WASSCE.
The approved WAEC registration fee for entry in 7 or 8 subjects announced by WAEC is GH¢381.24. This figure is exclusive of the fees for practical or oral tests which range between GH¢14.50 and GH¢19.50 per practical test. This fee excludes any administrative expenses the schools will incur.
In private SHS, parents would have to pay both the WAEC Exam fee and an extra fee for administrative expenses.
Also, in public basic schools where most of the schools do not have internet and ICT labs where the teacher in charge of registration can go to process the registration, parents would have to commit some resources to the registration even though the government is against any form of fee-paying.
In private basic schools, it is a different situation altogether because the government does not pay a penny out of the WAEC-approved fees for the exam, which is paid fully to WAEC per student by the schools. Hence, the school will have to charge some amount to take care of administrative charges.
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It must be put on record that, during the submission of student examination details at the GES Exam units in each district or circuit, receiving officers of examination registration documents (Printed registration details, CDs, among others) make schools or school representatives submit these files to pay submission fees.
This money is never accounted for because they are not official charges by the GES or WAEC. No receipt is issued, and retuning or exam-submitting officers will never complete the submission if they do not pay.
Where a school is late in submission, it may be asked to pay a penalty. This includes buying a rim of A4 paper for the officers, among others.
Dues to the monetization of the BECE and WASSCE registration such as the ones explained above, schools are forced to charge extra fees for the examination.
It is clear that, since schools will incur administrative expenses, they will charge extra to be able to register BECE and WASSCE candidates.
Is the 2023 BECE and WASSCE Registration Free? No, it is not entirely free. Parents of learners in SHS and JHS would often incur extra costs above the fees announced by WAEC for the examination to take care of administrative charges.