A total of 620,141 candidates are sitting for the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) for candidates across Ghana, which begins today and ends on Monday, May 11.
According to the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), 619,985 candidates are from Ghana, while 156 candidates from Togo and Benin are also participating in the examination.
The candidates are drawn from 20,390 public and private schools and will write the exams at 2,302 centres nationwide. The five participating schools from Togo and Benin will write at a single centre.
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WAEC explained that the foreign schools are eligible to participate because they follow Ghana’s curriculum.
Out of the Ghanaian candidates, 304,273 are males, while 315,712 are females.
A total of 2,303 supervisors, 2,070 assistant supervisors, and 21,791 invigilators have been deployed to oversee the examination.
The 2026 figure represents an increase of 16,657 candidates compared to the 603,328 recorded in 2025.
Regionally, the Ashanti Region recorded the highest number of candidates, with 124,095 candidates from 3,277 schools writing at 444 centres.
The Greater Accra Region follows with 114,243 candidates from 3,987 schools across 443 centres.
The Central Region has 69,496 candidates writing at 247 centres, while the Eastern Region has 56,700 candidates across 211 centres.
Western Region: 45,457 candidates at 154 centres
Northern Region: 37,308 candidates at 132 centres
Volta Region: 30,055 candidates at 118 centres
Bono Region: 24,984 candidates at 88 centres
Upper East Region: 22,449 candidates at 94 centres
Bono East Region: 20,897 candidates at 80 centres
Western North Region: 17,372 candidates at 83 centres, Upper West Region: 14,982 candidates at 51 centres, Oti Region: 12,401 candidates at 47 centres
Ahafo Region: 12,578 candidates at 50 centres
North East Region: 10,033 candidates at 34 centres
Savannah Region: 6,989 candidates at 26 centres.
WAEC says it has put in place all necessary measures to ensure a smooth and credible examination process.
The Head of Public Affairs at WAEC, John Kapi, indicated that briefing sessions have already been held for supervisors and that logistics, including stationery, have been distributed.
“We have started the process, and all necessary arrangements have been put in place,” he said.
He, however, cautioned candidates and officials against engaging in examination malpractice, warning that offenders would face serious consequences.