The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has rejected claims that candidates from private schools were disadvantaged in the marking of the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), insisting that its marking process is fair and does not reveal candidates' identities or school affiliations to examiners.

The response follows concerns raised by the Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS), which has called for an audit of this year's BECE results over alleged discrepancies affecting some candidates.

According to a report by myjoyonline.com on August 5, 2026, WAEC's Head of Public Affairs, John Kapi, explained that examiners mark scripts using only centre numbers and candidate ranges, making it impossible to determine whether a script belongs to a candidate from a public or private school.

"We examine all of them the same way. If you were to bring scripts and tell me that these are from school A or school B, I'll not be able to identify unless I go back to the database and check which school centre number this is or that," he indicated.

Kapi stressed that all candidates are assessed using the same marking schemes and standards, regardless of the schools they attended.

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The association has urged WAEC to investigate the concerns and reconcile any results found to be affected.

However, Kapi maintained that the Council's marking system safeguards the integrity of the examination process by concealing candidates' identities throughout the assessment.

He reiterated that WAEC applies the same marking standards to every candidate, dismissing suggestions that private school candidates could have been singled out during the marking process.

His comments come after GNAPS said it had received reports from member schools across the country alleging inconsistencies in the 2026 BECE results.

According to the association, some candidates received grades that did not reflect their academic performance, while others were reportedly assigned grades in subjects they did not register for.

MRA/BAI

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