The number of candidates has increased by 49,049 from the previous year’s total of 553,408 to 602,457.
The examination would be held concurrently for both school and private candidates. Both exams will take place between today, Monday, August 7, and Friday, August 11, 2023.
Today, candidates will sit for Religious and Moral Education and English Language exams.
They would write Integrated Science and Ghanaian Language on Tuesday, then Social Studies and Basic Design and Technology on Wednesday.
Thursday would be Mathematics and Information and Communication Technology, and Friday, French.
Out of the 602,457 candidates, 600,714 will take the BECE for School Candidates (BECE-SC), while 1,743 will take the BECE for Private Candidates (BECE-PC).
According to West African Examinations Council (WAEC) data, the BECE-SC will include 300,323 males and 300,391 females, while the BECE-PC will include 889 males and 854 females.
The BECE-SC, which is primarily for students who have completed nine years of basic education, will be participated by eighteen thousand, nine hundred and eighty-three public and private JHSs.
They will take the BECE in 2,137 centres, each with one supervisor. There will be 2,000 supervisory assistants and 21,025 invigilators.
The BECE-PC will be administered at 15 test centres with a supervisor. There will be 60 invigilators and one assistant supervisor for the examination.
The Ashanti Region will, as usual, have the biggest number of applicants for the BECE-SC, with 117,084, made up of 57 973 males and 59,111 females.
The Greater Accra Region comes in second with 112,894 candidates: 54,624 males and 58,270 females.
The Central Region comes next with 68,035 applicants (34,166 men and 33,869 women).
The Western and Western North regions will present a total of 60,528 applicants- 30,825 males and 29,703 females.
Fifty-eight thousand, three hundred and eleven candidates (29,703 males and 28,608 females) will sit the examination in the Eastern Region, while 55,617 others (27,882 males and 27,735 females) will sit in the Ahafo, Bono, and Bono East regions.
The Northern, North East, and Savannah areas will each send 46,783 candidates: 24,706 males and 22,077 females.
The Volta and Oti regions will also have 44,221 candidates (22,723 males and 21,498 females), while the Upper East Region will have 22,437 candidates (10,558 males and 11,879 females) and the Upper West Region will have 14,804 (7,163 males and 7,641 females).
For the BECE-PC, which is for re-sitters and first-timers, the Greater Accra Region had the most applicants with 565 — 303 men and 262 females.
Two hundred and thirteen candidates: 101 males and 112 females, will write in the Central Region with 175 candidates in the Upper West Region, 90 males and 85 females.
The Ashanti Region will have 157 candidates, including 75 males and 82 females.
A total of 124 candidates — 76 males and 48 females are taking part in the BECE-PC in the Ahafo, Bono and Bono East regions while 119 (51 males and 68 females) are expected to write in the Western and Western North regions.
The rest are Eastern Region, 109 candidates (64 males and 45 females); Volta and Oti, 96 candidates (43 males and 53 females); Northern, North East and Savannah regions, 96 candidates (36 males and 60 females), as well as Upper East Region, 89 candidates (50 males and 39 females).
Meanwhile, the WAEC has stated that it is prepared to hold a smooth and incident-free BECE this year.
It has charged applicants and school officials with maintaining proper conduct during the examination session.
At a news conference last Wednesday, the council declared, among other things, that it would name and shame institutions that were detected indulging in examination misconduct.
It further stated that it was looking into nine cases of ineligible individuals who had registered at the Ayi Mensah Basic School.
