The cut-off point for BECE is very important if students are to be serious. The 2026 BECE will commence Monday, the 14th of May, through the 11th of May, 2026. The cut-off point for access to free SHS will not be an aggregate of 25 or better. Instead, every program is expected to have its own cutoff point in each category of school. Thus, only candidates who distinguish themselves in the exams and obtain an aggregate worth the school and programme the student is aiming at. This is the surest way to enjoy the government’s flagship education policy for government second cycle schools.
In 2018, there was an attempt by the government to ensure every BECE candidate gained admission to a government school, which was a contributing factor to the double tracking system to help accommodate the numbers.
Many candidates did not obtain the average grade of 15 nor the average raw score to warrant a secondary, yet they were all made to go to school. But since then, the cutoff point was introduced to prevent all candidates who obtain grade 9 in Mathematics or English from being placed.
2026 BECE and school placement are going to be different as far as who qualifies and who does not qualify for government-sponsored free SHS. All students who want to be placed are encouraged to learn and make the best mark. In 2026, students will choose schools only after their results have been released by WAEC. What this means is the Ministry of Education is more likely to come out with special cutoff points for choosing category A to C schools, among others.
The BECE Aggregate 25 Cutoff Point Reality
Way back in 2020, there was a press release circulating on social media to this effect. The Ghana Education Service requested that teachers, head teachers, parents, and guardians advise their wards who are preparing for this year’s examination to study hard.
According to the press release purported to be coming from the Ghana Education Service, 50% of the 2018 BECE batch failed the national exams yet were enrolled in senior high schools under the Free SHS system. Parents and candidates should expect a new cutoff point for the school selection.
The Ministry of Education and the GES, in an attempt to ensure that the standard of the exams, its essence, and the importance candidates attach to it do not dwindle, have compromised to introduce a cut-off point of an aggregate of 25.
Thus, if a candidate fails to make the minimum grade of 25, he or she would not get the opportunity to go to the SHS to continue his or her education.
Why the a new BECE Aggregate 25 Cut-off point is good
This is a laudable idea because it will compel many candidates to sit up and learn to justify themselves. The idea that Free SHS is for everyone irrespective of whether you perform well or not must be halted, or else candidates will not take their books seriously, and we will be spending the taxpayer’s money on students who are not serious with their education.
Candidates who should be serious with their books and aim high to make good grades failed the exams. This must not be the case in 2026; hence, whether or not there is free SHS, candidates must sit up and be ready to burn the midnight oil.
With the new school selection phase, which starts after WAEC has released the BECE results, parents and candidates must get the school selection right and choose schools based on their results and not taste and preferences.
Our advice that we continue to give is “Sit up, believe in yourself, and make a commitment to your books. Set your target as to what grade you want to make and work hard at it. Just assume that the cut-off point has even dropped to an aggregate of 15 for Category A and B schools and work at ensuring you don’t perform poorly.
What can we do to help our candidates?
Parents and guardians must continue to encourage their wards and inspire them to greatness so that their children will get the best preparation ahead of the examination.
Teachers, school authorities, and schools must work hard to polish, refine, and teach the candidates and make them ready for the impending examination so as to redeem the image of their schools and themselves.
Candidates need to be disciplined if they are going to do well. Discipline has always been the bedrock of education and the magic card of students who have excelled.
Truancy, lateness to school, absenteeism of form three students, and an increase in indiscipline among final-year students all contribute to ultimate failure. This is the time to get serious with your books as the exams draw near.
Failure awaits those who are ill-prepared for the exams; success is building momentum to meet the disciplined, hardworking student. If you dream of a better future for your ward, that JHS three student in your neighborhood, that child who has the potential to excel yet has derailed, this is the time to get him or her back on track and focused.
The 2020 BECE is not going to be a walkover for lazy students; let us all encourage our BECE students in our homes, communities, and those we meet at the mosque and the church to up their studies for the upcoming examination. Let us inform them of the cutoff point and the need to study well to make the mark. All students must work hard to make the new cutoff point for BECE 2026 to be released by the Ministry of Education.
In a related development, WAEC has released a 12 digit BECE index numbering for the 2019 BECE