Checking 2025 BECE & WASSCE results online is optional – WAEC
The management of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) says checking of national and International examination (WASSCE or BECE) results online through the purchase of scratch cards is not compulsory for candidates.
In an interview with Ghana News Agency, the WAEC Head of Public Affairs, Mr John Kapi, said candidates who do not wish to check their examination results online using the scratch card can get it from the school they completed.
“It is certainly an option that students certainly have, but we do not compel all of them to purchase these scratch cards to check their results online,” the Examination Council spokesperson told the Accra-based News Agency.
The not-for-profit-making organization (WAEC) Public Relations Officer noted that apart from Ghana, “Nigeria also accesses results online while the students wait for the results to be taken to their schools.”
The WAEC official further explained that “And in Ghana scratch cards are sold for GHC15 each and same are available at the various offices across the regions and post offices across the country.”
“When you come into the WAEC system, nobody charges for the scratch card. I said earlier on if anybody concludes that we are extorting money, that is disingenuous and misleading,” Mr John K Kapi said in the exclusive interview.
Commenting on the claim that WAEC extorts money through the sale of scratch cards, he said, “We do not extort this money; the candidates can choose to access the results online or wait till the statements of results are sent to their institutions.”
The Examinations Council spokesman said the scratch cards were not part of the package the Council offered as part of its agreement with the Government, adding: “As you know, the government absorbs exams fees of candidates.”
“To absorb this in the package, we need to have an agreement with the Government and ascertain if they are willing to absorb this,” the Head of Public Affairs of the West African Examinations Council told the Ghana News Agency.
His comment comes after CUTS International, a public policy and consumer advocacy think tank, called on the Ministry of Education to compel WAEC to stop charging candidates fees to access their Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results online.
CUTS International, in a statement sighted by Pretertiary.com, described the monetization of the WASSCE and BECE for School results checking by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) as exploitative and unjustified.
The West Africa Regional Director of CUTS, Mr. Appiah Kusi Adomako, in the statement said WAEC’s practice of requiring students to purchase scratch cards to view their results is not only unnecessary but borders on extortion.
“In many parts of the world, exam bodies do not charge students to access their results. In our local universities, student can access their results free of charge, as is the case in every jurisdiction. This is a basic right that should not come at a cost to students or their families,” Mr. Adomako said.
The CUTS Regional Director noted that before 2004, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) printed and distributed physical examination results slips to schools, which came with significant logistical costs.
However, since transitioning to an online system, those costs have drastically reduced. Despite this shift, candidates are now being asked to pay between GH¢15 and GH¢25 just to check their examination results at the online portal.
