Is WAEC Using Private-School BECE Fees to Subsidize Public-School Exams? GNACOPS Raises Alarm

A serious question is now hanging over Ghana’s education system: Is the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) using higher BECE fees paid by private-school candidates to subsidize examinations for public-school students?

This is the concern driving the Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS) to suspend all WAEC-related engagements connected to the 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

GNACOPS says the issue goes beyond mere fee increases. What worries private schools most is the growing suspicion that private learners are being quietly turned into financial buffers for the national examination system without transparency, consultation, or justification. According to the council, BECE registration fees for private-school candidates have increased by more than 300 percent in five years, while public-school candidates continue to register at little or no direct cost to parents.

In a strongly worded communiqué, GNACOPS argues that WAEC has failed to clearly explain how BECE fees are calculated, how examination costs are shared, and why private-school candidates are repeatedly charged significantly higher amounts. The council says this lack of clarity fuels legitimate concerns that private-school fees may be indirectly subsidizing public-school examinations, a practice it describes as unfair and unsustainable.

Speaking for thousands of private schools across the country, GNACOPS insists that private education families should not be penalized for choosing an alternative education pathway. The council maintains that while it supports universal access to education, such access must not be funded through hidden cross-subsidies imposed on private-school learners.

GNACOPS notes that WAEC’s continued refusal to engage stakeholders openly on the fee structure has deepened mistrust and weakened confidence in the integrity of the examination system. According to the council, transparency is not optional when decisions directly affect learners, parents and schools nationwide.

As a result, GNACOPS has directed all private pre-tertiary schools to halt candidate data submissions, suspend payment of 2025 BECE registration fees and disengage from all WAEC-related meetings and transactions until WAEC provides clear answers. The council says this action is necessary to force accountability and protect learners from unjustified financial exploitation.

GNACOPS is demanding full disclosure on whether private-school BECE fees are being used to offset costs for public-school candidates, alongside a fair and economically reasonable fee structure for all. The council is also calling for a formal framework to prevent unilateral fee hikes in the future.

READ: Suspend 2026 BECE Registration Activities: GNACOPS Orders Private Schools Over WAEC’s Hiked Fees

As preparations for BECE 2025 intensify, the question GNACOPS has placed before the nation is simple but powerful: Who really pays for Ghana’s national examinations, and is the burden being shared fairly?

Until WAEC answers that question with transparency and facts, GNACOPS says private schools will remain on pause—and the national debate over BECE fees is only just beginning.