Ghana’s Minister for Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has announced that basic-level students will no longer sit for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). Instead, they will take entrance exams to qualify for Senior High School (SHS).

In an exclusive interview on GTV’s Breakfast Show on August 8, 2024, Dr. Adutwum emphasized the importance of completing senior high school in the 21st century, noting that certificate exams will now be reserved for this level of education, not junior high.

He explained that the Free Secondary Education Bill, which provides government-funded resources for free, quality secondary education, reclassifies junior high school as lower secondary. This change effectively establishes a six-year secondary education system in Ghana, with lower secondary schools operating separately but offering equal learning opportunities as senior high schools.

Dr. Adutwum highlighted that making secondary education compulsory renders the BECE unnecessary as a certificate exam.

Addressing recommendations from Africa Education Watch to include a compulsory subject on basic practical agriculture in the SHS curriculum reform, the minister suggested incorporating it into the lower secondary curriculum. This approach would introduce students to agriculture early, helping them decide whether to pursue it further in upper secondary school.