WAEC begins Ghana-only 2024 WASSCE for School with practicals

The 2024 edition of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates or final-year Senior High School (SHS) students has commenced with the practical aspect of the International examination.

The Daily Graphic in a post sighted by Pretertiary.com said candidates are using various tools including chisels, scissors, cutters, needles, thread, awls, pliers, hammers, tape measures, mallets and office pins for their Leatherwork, Sculpture, Graphic Design and Textiles project work.

During its visit to some schools in Accra yesterday, the Graphic newspaper said it spotted some candidates in their working gear busily undertaking various projects to answer questions asked in the 2024 practical examination.

According to Graphic, candidates were given questions for the project work for Leatherwork, Ceramics, Picture Making, Basketry, Graphic Design, Textiles and Jewellery two weeks in advance to ensure adequate preparation.

“Each project takes six hours a day with a two-hour break. That means the candidates are supposed to work for three hours, take a break and then return to complete their projects within the remaining three hours,” it said in the post.

Speaking to the newspaper, some candidates said the examination, which began last Monday, had been smooth so far. One of them, Sampson Agama, told the Daily Graphic that “so far it has been good and everything is okay”.

On the part of their supervisor, he said the practicals were going to last for three weeks explaining that it previously lasted for two weeks, but per the new arrangement of the department, all the candidates were doing the same elective.

“The West African Examinations Council gave the questions two weeks ahead of time to enable the students to prepare before the start of the examination,” the practicals supervisor told the Daily Graphic in a discussion.

This year’s WASSCE for School will officially begin for all candidates to partake in the examination nationwide on Wednesday, August 21, 2024, as they take the English Language Oral test which will last for some 45 minutes.

This year is the third consecutive time prospective candidates in Ghana are sitting for the WASSCE for School separately from other candidates of the four member countries of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).

This is because, unlike Ghana, the four member countries of the not-for-profit-making organization (WAEC) — Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone and The Gambia have returned to the May/June calendar for the WASSCE School.

Administered by the West African Examinations Council, the 2024 edition of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination which commenced on August 5, 2024, with practicals is expected to end Friday on September 20, 2024.

The management of WAEC ahead of the official start of the 2024 WASSCE for School is expected to hold a press briefing to update Ghanaians on the total number of candidates to sit for the Ghana version of the International examination.

Last year, a total of 447,204 candidates, made up of 211,834 males and 235,370 females drawn from 975 schools sat for for the 2023 edition of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates.

The Ghana-only examination took place at 834 centres across the country. A total of sixty (60) subjects, comprising four (4) core and fifty-six (56) electives were made available to prospective candidates to choose from.