The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), says it will disqualify BECE candidates found to have been illegally registered.

This comes after the Council discovered that some parents moved their children from private schools to public schools to be registered while they're yet to complete the JHS education.

 Assistant Registrar of the Council said this during a press briefing on Wednesday, August 2, 2023.

“The Council's attention has been drawn to some parents moving their wards in Basic Stage six, JHS 1, 2 and 3 in private schools to public schools to register for the examination.”

“This is against both the GES and WAEC regulations. The Council is presently investigating a number of such cases and the registration of such candidates would be annulled. Parents are urged not to traumatize their wards by such actions,” he said.

He further revealed that WAEC will introduce its revised rules for the examinations for the very first time this year.

“The Council wishes to remind its stakeholders and candidates that the revised Rules and Regulations for dealing with cases of irregularity in the Council's examinations which took effect in January 2023 will be put to use for the first time during this year's examinations.”

“These rules apply in all the member countries,” he explained.

A total number of 600,714 candidates, comprising 300,323 males and 300,391 females from 18,993 participating schools have registered for the 2023 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

The exam is expected to commence from Monday, August 7, 2023 to Friday, August 11, 2023 across the country.

According to WAEC, the number of candidates that registered for this year's BECE (SC) is 8.8% higher than the 2022 entry figure of 552,276.

With regards to the BECE for private candidates, a total entry figure of 1,743 candidates was recorded and this is made up of 889 males and 854 females. This year's figure is 5.4% higher than the entry figure of 1,132 for 2022.

The West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates with Visual Art Project commenced on July 31, 2023 and ends on Friday, August 18, 2023.

Then the Theory Papers will continue on Monday, August 21, 2023.