Up to 483,800 candidates who sat the 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) have been successfully placed into senior high schools (SHSs), senior high technical schools (SHTS), and technical and vocational institutions (TVIs).
The number represents 82 per cent of the 590,309 candidates who qualify for placement out of the 603,328 students who took the examination this year.
Currently, 248,038 of the figure are females, representing 51.4 per cent of students already placed.
The Deputy Minister of Education, Dr Clement Abas Apaak, who disclosed this at a news conference in Accra yesterday, said 107,509 candidates, representing 18.2 per cent of all qualified students, were not matched with their initial school choices due to high demand for certain Category A schools.
To address this, the deputy minister said the self-placement portal had been activated for all qualified candidates who were not automatically placed to log onto the system to select from schools with available vacancies.
Additionally, he said, the Free SHS Programme was this year piloting 70 private SHSs, all of which were now accessible through the portal, providing more opportunities for students, adding that “the private schools that have agreed to participate will receive government support equivalent to the fees incurred for students enrolling in public institutions”.
In addition to the 70 private SHSs, the placement programme covers 724 public SHSs and SHTS, and 233 technical and vocational institutions.
Resolution
To ease the stress on parents and guardians, Dr Apaak announced that resolution centres had been set up at the district, regional and national levels, with the GNAT Hall in Accra serving as the national resolution centre.
He cautioned parents and guardians against paying money to any individuals, whether a state agency official or a third-party agent, for placement.
“Let me take this opportunity to strongly reiterate that placement is absolutely free.
The Ministry of Education cautions that anyone soliciting payment must be reported immediately to the nearest police station or to the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
“Whether placed directly or through the self-placement portal, you have a clear and secure pathway to continue your education.
Let us, as parents, teachers and communities, support our students and ensure that this placement exercise contributes to their success and to Ghana’s progress,” Dr Apaak stated.
Background
This year’s BECE was written by 603,328 candidates, made up of 297,250 males and 306,078 females, from 20,395 schools, across 2,237 examination centres.
In August this year, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) released the results of the 2025 BECE with more than 600,000 students up for placement in senior high, technical and vocational schools.
WAEC released the results of about 600,000 candidates who took part in the examination except the results of 177 candidates which were cancelled for malpractice and 718 others whose subject results were also cancelled.
The council also withheld the entire results of 93 candidates and the subject results of 1,240 candidates.
Moreover, the subject results of some candidates from 119 schools were cancelled, while the subject results of some candidates from 87 schools were withheld for further scrutiny.
