Free SHS records its best WASSCE results yet in 2023

The West African Examination Council’s (WAEC’s) provisional results for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) released today, Monday, 18 December 2023, has seen Ghanaian student recording their best results since the introduction of the government’s free senior high school (Free SHS) policy in September 2017.

According to a press release dated 18 December 2023 and signed by John Kapi, the head of public affairs at WAEC, a total of 448,674 candidates made up of 212,453 males and 236,221 females from 975 schools sat for the 2023 examination. This figure, WAEC says, is 5.8% higher than the 2022 entry figure of 422,883.

The outcome of the “Ghana-only version” of the examination shows the best results in three core subjects (English, Integrated Science, and Social Studies) from 2015 to 2023 and the third-best results in Mathematics over the same period.

WAEC’s data as published indicate that 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, are the years that more than 50% of free SHS graduates, obtained aggregates A1 to C6 in all core subjects.

The data also indicates that the 73.11% recorded for English Language, 66.82% for Integrated Science, and 76,76% for Social Studies in the 2023 examinations is the best on record since 2015.

The examination was, however, not without irregularities. WAEC in their statement noted that “following the completion of investigations into some of the cases of irregularity reported during the conduct of the examination, the 35th Meeting of the Ghana Examinations Committee, held on Wednesday, 13 December 2023 approved as follows:”

“First, cancellation of subject results of 3,647 candidates for bringing foreign material like prepared notes, textbooks, and printed material into the examination halls.

“Second, the cancellation of the entire results of 839 candidates for possession of mobile phones in the examination halls, and lastly, the withholding of subject results of 4,280 candidates and the entire results of 1,005 for various suspected offenses” the WAEC statement read.

“Yet still, some subject results of candidates from 235 schools have been withheld for collusion and the use of artificial intelligence-generated answers. These cases are still under investigation. The withheld results of these candidates may be released or cancelled depending on the outcome of investigations” the statement further read.

Reporting by Wilberforce Asare in Accra

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