The 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) officially started today, Wednesday, August 20, with 461,640 candidates across the country sitting for the Oral English paper.

The candidates comprise 207,381 males and 254,259 females, reflecting a slight increase of 1,029 candidates compared to the 460,611 who sat for the examination last year.

This year’s exams follow a phased schedule, with the practical papers starting earlier on August 4. The main written papers, however, commenced today.

It also marks the fourth year that Ghanaian students are writing the “Ghana Only” version of WASSCE, introduced to give the country full control over the examination calendar.

In previous years, candidates from other West African countries such as Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia sat the exams together with Ghana. However, following disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ghana adopted a “Ghana Only” timetable.