Private schools accuse WAEC of 'unfair marking,' demand independent review of 2026 BECE results

A fresh controversy has erupted over the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), as the Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS) accuses the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) of unfairly marking scripts belonging to private school candidates, and demands that the Ministry of Education set up an independent review committee to reassess the results.

What GNACOPS is alleging
Speaking in a television interview with GTV on Tuesday, August 4, the Executive Director of GNACOPS, Obenfo Nana Kwasi Gyetuah, said the council had gathered what he called "credible evidence" showing that grades awarded to a significant number of private school candidates do not match their academic performance or continuous assessment records. He alleged that candidates from private schools were marked more harshly than their counterparts in public schools.

According to Gyetuah, since GNACOPS issued a nationwide call for feedback the previous Saturday, over 14,000 private schools have raised concerns about the marking of this year's BECE. A petition detailing the complaints has since been submitted to the Minister of Education, he said, and will be followed up alongside affected students and parents.

What GNACOPS is asking for
The council's central demand is for the Ministry of Education to establish an independent review committee to reassess WAEC's marking and determine whether the released results accurately reflect candidates' performance. GNACOPS has also called on WAEC to release candidates' examination scripts for independent scrutiny, arguing that greater transparency is needed to restore public confidence in the examination process. Gyetuah stressed that the primary relief being sought is a review that avoids disrupting the academic progression of affected learners as they prepare to transition to senior high school.

The context: a results release already under scrutiny
The dispute follows WAEC's release of provisional 2026 BECE results on Tuesday, July 29, covering 620,243 candidates 304,415 males and 315,828 females drawn from 20,789 schools who sat the examination at 2,237 centers nationwide. That release was itself accompanied by disciplinary action: WAEC's 37th Meeting of the Final Awards and Examiners' Appointment Committee, held July 21, approved the cancellation of the entire results of 105 candidates and the subject results of 496 others following investigations into examination malpractice.

A further 119 candidates had subject results withheld, 48 had entire results withheld, and the subject results of 2,722 candidates from 229 schools remain under continuing scrutiny, with a final determination expected by August 31, 2026.

WAEC, in its statement announcing the results, cautioned stakeholders to be wary of fraudsters offering to "upgrade" results for a fee, stressing that its results are secure and can be authenticated through official channels. The Council has not yet issued a public response specifically addressing GNACOPS's allegations of differential marking between private and public school candidates.

Why this matters
Disputes over marking consistency between private and public school candidates are not unique to Ghana examination boards elsewhere have faced similar accusations that inconsistent marking and grading, rather than deliberate bias, drive appeal volumes, with regulators typically finding that only a small fraction of results change on review.

What makes GNACOPS's intervention significant is its scale: if the figure of over 14,000 concerned private schools holds up, it would represent a substantial share of Ghana's private basic education sector, and the outcome of any review could shape how confidently parents and school proprietors trust WAEC's marking processes going forward particularly as the transition to senior high school placement now depends on students reviewing their results before making their SHS choices, a new policy introduced this year.

Mustapha Bature Sallama.
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal investigation and Intelligence Analysis.
International Conflict Management and Peace Building.USIP
mustysallama@gmail.com
+233-555-275-880

References
Graphic Online, "Private schools accuse WAEC of 'unfair marking', demand independent review of 2026 BECE results," August 4, 2026. https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/private-schools-seek-independent-review-of-waecs-handling-of-2026-bece-results.html

ModernGhana, "WAEC releases BECE 2026 results, cancels entire results of 105 candidates." https://www.modernghana.com/news/1514965/waec-releases-bece-2026-results-cancels-entire.html

Asaase Radio, "2026 BECE results released; WAEC probes suspected malpractice in 229 schools." https://asaaseradio.com/2026-bece-results-released-waec-probes-suspected-malpractice-in-229-schools/

Graphic Online, "WAEC releases 2026 BECE results; See breakdown of results cancellation for malpractice." https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/education/waec-releases-2026-bece-results.html

YEN.com.gh, "2026 BECE Results Released, WAEC Shares Details of Cancelled Papers." https://yen.com.gh/education/308134-2026-bece-results-released-waec-shares-details-cancelled-papers/
GhanaHighSchools.com,

"WAEC Releases Provisional BECE 2026 Results for School Candidates." https://ghanahighschools.com/waec-releases-provisional-bece-2026-results-for-school-candidates/

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