MoE to review BECE timetable, extend duration beyond five days

Plans are underway for the duration of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) to be extended from five days to eight days, the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has announced.

Speaking to journalists, the Education Minister said the move forms part of efforts by the central government to reduce stress and pressure on final-year Junior High School students who sit for the national examination and provide them with more time to prepare between the examination papers.

The Minister in Charge of Education described the current Monday-to-Friday examination schedule as a stress on students due to the number of subjects they are required to write within a short period.

Speaking during his 2026 WASSCE for School monitoring visit to Aburi Girls SHS on Wednesday, June 10, Mr Haruna said the government was reviewing the  Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) calendar to make the process more student-friendly.

“Accordingly, government is reviewing the BECE exams calendar, so now the BECE will begin on a Wednesday and end the following Wednesday, so that adequate time is given to our learners to prepare for the BECE across the country,” he said.

The Minister for Education explained that under the proposed arrangement, prospective BECE candidates would have the weekend break to revise and prepare for subsequent papers.

“So when we start with the core subject on Wednesday, we’ll end with the core subject the next Wednesday, so that at least they have the weekend to prepare for the expanded workload,” the Minister stated.

He disclosed that the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Professor Ernest Kofi Davis, would oversee the implementation of the revised Basic Education Certificate Examination timetable.

The decision to review the BECE timetable and extend its duration from the current 5 days to 8 days follows concerns raised by stakeholders, including education policy think tank Africa Education Watch, that the current five-day examination schedule places undue stress on students and limits the time available for preparation between subjects.