BECE 2025/26 SHS/TVET placement merit-based, free & fair – MoE

The Ministry of Education (MoE), as part of its efforts to ensure the transparent and fair placement of students who sat for this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination, says that the 2025 second-cycle school (SHS/TVET) placement will be merit-based.

In a social media post sighted by Pretertiary.com, the Ministry in Charge of Education said the second cycle school placement will be based on six subjects, thus four core subjects and two elective subjects.

According to the Education Ministry, in the case where two or more students are tied, the tie will be broken by considering the raw scores in descending order, with the student having the higher score being given priority

Describing the 2025 second-cycle school (SHS/TVET) placement as free, MoE has cautioned the public to beware of unscrupulous individuals who pose as Ministry officials or those from the Ghana Education Service, Free Senior High School, or Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

In a related development, the Ghana Education Service (GES) says students who sat for this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) from September 1 to September 8, 2025, will verify their details, including gender, school code, and programme code, at the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) portal (https://cssps.gov.gh).

Speaking at a press conference monitored by Pretertiary.com, the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, Professor Ernerst Kofi Davies, said the SHS/TVET placement details verification exercise is to minimise errors in this year’s computer second cycle school placement.

“Ahead of the placement, GES has introduced a special review window to minimise errors. From September 1 to September 8, 2025, candidates will be able to log on to the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) portal to verify their details, including gender, school code, and programme code

In order to reduce the errors associated with school placement, candidates will have the opportunity to review the entries they have made; gender, school code, programme code, online on www.cssps.gov.gh.

This will be supported by an explainer video to guide parents. This exercise is expected on the 1st September and ends on 8th September.

The actual second cycle school placement exercise will commence on the 17th of September. Students are expected to report to campus and begin their studies between 18th to 20th October,” he stated.

This year, a total of 603,328 candidates, comprising 297,250 males and 306,078 females, from nineteen thousand, five hundred and five (19,505) participating Junior High Schools (JHSs) entered for the school examination.

This includes seventy-two (72 ) candidates with visual impairment, two hundred and thirty-nine (239) with hearing impairment, and one hundred and sixty-one (161) candidates with other test accommodation needs.

The examination was conducted at two thousand, two hundred and thirty-seven (2,237 ) centres across the country. Out of the total number, two thousand, five hundred and twenty-six (2,526) candidates were absent.

The BECE for Private Candidates recorded a total entry figure of one thousand, three hundred and ninety (1,661) candidates. This was made up of eight hundred and fifty-eight (858) males and eight hundred and three (803 ) females.

Fifteen (15) centres, mostly in the regional capitals, were used for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) for Private Candidates. Out of the total number of candidates who entered for the examination, fifty-seven (57) were absent.