A total of 603,328 candidates will take part in this year's Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has announced.

The candidates, comprising 297,250 males and 306,078 females, are from 20,395 schools.

The exams for both school and private candidates will be held from Wednesday, 11 June, to Wednesday, 18 June. The exams were initially scheduled to take place from June 9 to June 16.

The exams will take place across various centres nationwide under strict supervision by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).

In a statement issued by the Council on Monday, June 9, WAEC noted, “the number of candidates that registered for this year's BECE (SC) is 5.99% higher than the 2024 entry figure of 569,236.”

It noted that measures have been laid out to ensure that candidates with special educational needs are supported throughout the examination process.

“Heads of school, parents and guardians should rest assured that adequate provision has been made to ensure that no child is left behind as far as the examination is concerned,” WAEC said.

WAEC cautioned students and all stakeholders against engaging in examination malpractices.

These include “having inscriptions on any part of the body or clothing,” “posting live questions on the internet,” “refusal to grant timely access into the school premises,” “misconduct of examination officials,” and “multiple registration of candidates in both public and private schools.”

The Council added that “the revised rules are available on the Council’s website and Heads of school, supervisors and invigilators should ensure that candidates adhere to these new rules.”

A total of 38,316 candidates sat for the examination in 2024, 17,596 males and 21,131 females.

Despite registering, 1,354 candidates were absent.

The results for the four core subjects show varying levels of success:

English Language: 54.79% scored A1-C6, 13.49% obtained D7, 12.90% received E8, and 13.45% had F9.

Mathematics (Core): 37.44% scored A1-C6, 11.00% obtained D7, 12.30% received E8, while 37.42% had F9.

Integrated Science: 53.31% secured A1-C6, 12.02% obtained D7, 13.68% received E8, and 18.46% had F9.

Social Studies: 87.88% achieved A1-C6, 3.11% obtained D7, 2.26% received E8, and 5.76% had F9.

Meanwhile, the 2025 WASSCE is scheduled to be conducted from August 4 to September 19.