More Than 500,000 SHS Candidates Begin 2026 WASSCE Across Ghana Today

Over 500,000 final-year Senior High School students in Ghana are starting the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) today, with the Oral English paper marking the beginning of the exams.

This year’s examination also marks Ghana’s return to participating in the unified regional WASSCE alongside other West African countries after several years of administering separate examinations due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has stated that all preparations required for the smooth conduct of the examinations nationwide have been completed.

Speaking in an interview on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, WAEC’s Head of Public Affairs, John Kapi, explained that several security measures had been introduced to protect the integrity of the exams. He noted that the printing of question papers was intentionally delayed to reduce the risk of leakage and malpractice.

According to him, the council wanted to ensure that examination papers did not get into the public domain before the scheduled dates, thereby preventing attempts to compromise the credibility of the examinations.

Mr Kapi also assured students, parents, and school authorities that all examination materials for centres across the country were ready and would be distributed according to schedule.

He added that WAEC was confident the examinations would proceed according to the official timetable already released.

In recent years, WAEC has strengthened efforts to combat examination malpractice through stricter security procedures, closer monitoring, and collaboration with security agencies.

The 2026 WASSCE will be conducted at hundreds of examination centres nationwide, with candidates expected to sit for various core and elective subjects over the coming weeks.