2026 BECE: SHS Selection Rules Changed – Candidates Must Now Pick 2 Category A Schools

A major shift in Ghana’s Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) has been announced as the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) gets underway. Candidates this year will be required to select two Category ‘A’ senior high schools instead of one, a policy adjustment designed to tackle persistent placement challenges.

The announcement was made by the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Professor Ernest Kofi Davis, during a press briefing in Accra on Sunday, May 3, ahead of the commencement of the examination.

What Exactly Is Changing?

Prof. Davis laid out the specifics of the new selection method. The total number of schools a candidate can select has been increased from seven to eight.

However, the most critical change lies in the composition of the selection:

• Two Category ‘A’ Schools: Every candidate must now pick one Category ‘A’ boarding school and one Category ‘A’ day school within their vicinity or district.

• Category ‘B’ Schools: As before, candidates may select up to two schools in this category.

• Category ‘C’ Schools: Candidates can select up to five schools in this category.

“We did a few changes. Last year, the students picked seven schools. This year, we have given them the chance to pick eight schools. Eight schools in the sense that now they are going to consider two Category ‘A’ schools, one boarding and one day within their vicinity,” Prof. Davis explained.

Why the Change?

The Director-General was clear that the adjustment is a direct response to repeated challenges observed in previous years. The primary issues have been:

• Oversubscription of Category ‘A’ Schools: Many top-tier boarding schools receive far more applications than they have vacancies, leading to widespread disappointment.

• Placement Delays and Mismatches: The old selection format sometimes resulted in candidates being placed in schools they did not prefer or, worse, not being placed at all during the automatic run.

By mandating a local day school option within the elite Category ‘A’ band, the GES aims to distribute placements more evenly and ensure that high-performing students who do not secure their first-choice boarding facility still land in a quality Category ‘A’ institution close to home. This is fundamentally about equity and accessibility, ensuring that top-tier education is not exclusively associated with distant boarding schools.

The Placement Will Begin Immediately After the Exams

In a further move to ensure efficiency, Prof. Davis announced that the placement process will commence immediately after the BECE ends on May 11, rather than waiting for the results to be released.

“We think it is doable because we are finishing the BECE on May 11, and our calculations suggest that we have 19 to 20 weeks to get the students to school because SHSs will reopen on September 18,” he stated.

This proactive timeline is designed to give the CSSPS ample processing time, with the goal of ensuring timely enrolment when the 2026/2027 academic year begins.

BECE 2026 by Numbers

The scale of the operation is immense:

• Total Candidates: 620,141 (304,349 boys and 315,792 girls)

• Participating Schools: 20,395

• Examination Centres: 2,303, supervised by 2,303 officers, 2,070 assistant supervisors, and 21,791 invigilators.

• Subjects: Each candidate is expected to write 11 subjects.

The candidate figure represents a 2.7% increase over last year’s number.

No Room for Malpractice

Prof. Davis also used the platform to address the candidates directly. He urged students to prepare thoroughly and resist the temptation to seek external help.

“There is no need for students to panic or fear or be anxious because the questions will definitely come from the syllabus or the curriculum. The questions will, therefore, be within their experience,” he reassured.

He ended with a blunt warning against examination malpractice: “Do not expect external help or ‘apo’ in the exams room because we will do everything possible to ensure that students don’t get ‘apo’.”

This message reinforces the GES’s high-alert stance, which has already seen over 500 anonymous complaints received after just the first day of the exams.