The government has announced plans to extend the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) from a five-day schedule to an eight-day period to reduce psychological pressure on candidates and grant them adequate preparation time between papers.
The reform will shift the traditional Monday-to-Friday exam sprint to a new timeline starting on a Wednesday and ending on the subsequent Wednesday.
Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu disclosed the upcoming structural changes during a school visit at Aburi Girls Senior High School on Thursday.
He acknowledged that the existing, tightly packed examination framework has historically subjected final-year junior high school students to unnecessary academic anxiety.
“I understand that our schedule of the exams for BECE was just Monday to Friday, and that put many of you under some stress,” Mr Iddrisu told the students. “Accordingly, the government is reviewing the BECE exams calendar so that adequate time is given to our learners to prepare across the country.”
Under the newly conceptualised format, candidates will benefit from a critical weekend break midway through the examination week.
This buffer period is intended to let students rest and revise.
Furthermore, the Ministry plans to stagger core subject papers across consecutive Wednesdays to alleviate complications arising from an expanded curriculum and heavier student workloads.
The Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) has been tasked with finalising and overseeing the rollout of the revised national timetable.
This adjustment follows a broader push from education stakeholders urging the Ministry to implement more student-friendly policies in national assessment schedules.