WAEC’s provisional results for the WASSCE, released on Monday, December 18, 2023, indicate that Ghanaian students have achieved their best outcomes since the implementation of the Free SHS policy in September 2017.
The press release, dated December 18, 2023, and signed by John Kapi, WAEC’s head of public affairs, reports that a total of 448,674 candidates, comprising 212,453 males and 236,221 females from 975 schools, participated in the 2023 examination.
This figure reflects a 5.8% increase from the 2022 entry figure of 422,883. The results for the “Ghana-only version” of the examination highlight the best performances in English, Integrated Science, and Social Studies from 2015 to 2023 and the third-best results in Mathematics over the same period.
According to WAEC’s published data, the years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 have seen over 50% of Free SHS graduates achieving aggregates A1 to C6 in all core subjects.
The data further reveals that the percentages recorded for English Language (73.11%), Integrated Science (66.82%), and Social Studies (76.76%) in the 2023 examinations represent the highest performances 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.