Prospectus for first year Senior High School students: The Ministry of Education (MoE) has announced changes to the materials provided to first-year Senior High School (SHS) students after the 2023 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). They’ve made these changes following consultations with various groups involved in education.
One of the people involved in this process, who’s on the committee responsible for reviewing the SHS prospectus, explained in an interview that students who recently completed the 2023 BECE and are entering SHS this year will receive a national prospectus. They’ve spoken to school heads, the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), parents, students, teachers, and others about what should be in this prospectus.
For this academic year, every SHS, including public ones, will use the same national prospectus. In the past, different schools had their own prospectuses, but now they will all follow a standardized one.
To provide some context, the 2023 BECE took place from August 7th to August 11th, 2023, with a total of 600,714 students from various government and private Junior High Schools (JHSs) participating. Additionally, there was a BECE for Private Candidates, which saw 1,743 candidates take the exam, marking a 5.4% increase from the previous year.
In these exams, students had the option to choose from 21 different subjects, including five core subjects and sixteen electives. The goal is to streamline and standardize the educational materials given to students across the country.
The Ministry of Education and relevant stakeholders have made these changes to ensure that all students receive the same educational materials when they enter Senior High School, regardless of the school they attend. This move aims to create a more consistent and equitable educational experience for all students.