FSHS Secretariat announces changes: BECE candidates to select schools before writing final exams

FSHS Secretariat announces changes: BECE candidates to select schools before writing final exams

The 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) will be written between 9th to 16th June 2025. Schools and students are preparing for their first major exams, where they will pass the test to further their education at their preferred schools.

The erstwhile Education Ministry changed the perennial system of students selecting schools before writing the BECE to write the BECE before choosing schools.

On Tuesday, the Secretariat of the Free Senior High School announced changes to school selection.

The school selection and placement process for candidates of the 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) officially commences today, Tuesday, May 27, and will conclude on Friday, June 6.

At a news conference announcing the new guidelines for the selection of schools for BECE candidates in anticipation of this year’s examination, Sena Okity-Duah, the Coordinator of the Free SHS (FSHS) Secretariat, disclosed that teams from the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Service and the Free SHS Secretariat will be deployed nationwide to conduct sensitization activities. These efforts are aimed at guiding candidates, parents, and school authorities through the new selection procedures.

Candidates are required to select a total of seven schools, consisting of five main choices and two alternatives, which must be listed in order of preference.

“Candidates must choose seven schools in total: five main options and two alternatives,” she stated.

Of the five main schools selected, at least three must be boarding schools, while the remaining two should be day schools. Candidates may also choose Category B schools as either day or boarding institutions, with Category C schools available for selection in either format as well.

However, the new guidelines explicitly prohibit candidates from selecting more than one Category A school and restrict them to no more than two from Category B.