The West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates (SC) yesterday (Wednesday) took off in earnest seamlessly for all candidates in second-cycle schools across the country with Oral English.
In most of the schools, candidates were divided into batches to sit for the examination due to their large numbers.
This came to light when the Daily Graphic visited some of the senior high schools (SHSs) in Accra.
Newspaper subscription
Schools
The institutions visited included the Odorgonno SHS, Accra High School, St Thomas Aquinas SHS and Labone SHS.
At the Odorgonno SHS, candidates from two other private schools were writing the examination in addition to students of the school.
They are the Talent SHS, with 30 candidates and the Lapaz Community SHS with 373.
The Odorgonno SHS had a total number of 1,188 registered candidates.
However, 1,159 were present with 29 absentees.
At the Accra High School, where 652 candidates are writing the examination, the assistant headmistress, Monica Botchway, said students were divided into three sets, with each of them taking turns to write.
She said the question papers came on time and that there was no problem.
Asked about absenteeism, she said that could only be determined after the last set had written, “by then we would have known the total number that wrote”.
At the St Thomas Aquinas SHS, the Headmaster, Rev. Fr Dr George Obeng Appah, said the school was presenting 728 candidates.
Issues
The question papers, he said, also came on time, and there were no issues.
“So far so good,” he said and that everything was smooth with the commencement of the examination.
Rev. Fr. Dr Appah also could not tell of absentees until the last batch of the four sets of candidates had written.
“I am expecting my students to perform because we have done everything that has to do with the WASSCE,” he said, and that included a WASSCE clinic to take them through how to answer questions.
He said, “I guess we are going to record some good grades.”
Rev. Fr. Dr Appah wished all the candidates well and advised them to comport themselves and not engage in acts that could jeopardise their education.
Two candidates of the school who sat for the paper, Jonathan Addy and Acheampong Gyasi, said everything went well.
At the Labone SHS, 1,365 candidates, divided into five sets, were writing the examination.
Management said everything was okay and that there was no problem.
All the centres visited had police personnel manning them to ensure law and order.
Subjects
In all, 65 subjects will be written by candidates, with each candidate writing eight subjects on average.
A total of 461,640 candidates across the country are expected to sit the examination.
This number is made up of 207,381 male candidates and 254,259 female candidates.
The examination will be conducted in about 701 examination centres across the country.
On August 5, 2025, the practical aspect of the WASSCE for School Candidates took off smoothly in senior high and technical schools across the country.
It involved candidates undertaking projects they had been assigned to carry out as part of the examination.
Per the statistics made available to the Daily Graphic, the Ashanti Region will be presenting the highest number of candidates of 115,982, made up of 52,813 males and 63,169 females.
The Eastern Region follows with 64,225 candidates– 28,024 males and 36,201 females.
Three regions — Bono, Ahafo and Bono East — have a total of 61,773 candidates (27,560 males and 34,213 females) participating in the WASSCE-SC.
The Central Region is next with 53,738 candidates, made up of 23,090 males and 30648 females.
A total of 45,877 candidates from the Greater Accra Region will take part in the WASSCE-SC, with a breakdown of 20,948 males and 24,929 females.
The Volta and Oti regions will present a total of 35,539 candidates, made up of 16,729 males and 18,810 females, while Western and Western North have 33,121 candidates, made up of 14,156 males and 18,965 females.
The Northern, North East, and Savanna regions have a total of 29,652 candidates, comprising 14,712 males and 14,940 females for the 2025 WASSCE-SC.
In the Upper East Region, 13,976 candidates, comprising 5,918 males and 8,058 females, will sit this year’s examination.
Additionally, 7,757 candidates, comprising 3,431 males and 4,326 females, from the Upper West Region will participate.
The WASSCE-SC would end on September 19, 2025.
