More than 500,000 final-year Senior High School students across Ghana today began the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), starting with the Oral English paper.
According to the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), a total of 509,862 candidates are sitting for this year’s examination nationwide, including 225,274 males and 284,588 females. Practical and project-based assessments for subjects such as Visual Arts and Home Economics had already commenced ahead of the written papers.
This year’s Oral English examination is being conducted simultaneously across all WAEC member countries, marking a return to the council’s coordinated regional timetable. The 2026 examination also signifies the full restoration of the traditional May–June academic calendar following disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced earlier examinations to be rescheduled between 2020 and 2021.
Regionally, the Ashanti Region recorded the highest number of candidates with 127,702 students, followed by the Eastern Region with 70,099 candidates. The Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regions together registered 67,739 candidates, while the Central Region recorded 61,303 candidates.
The Greater Accra Region has 48,099 candidates sitting for the examination, while the Volta Region recorded 41,622 candidates. The Oti and Western North regions together accounted for 35,620 candidates, with the Northern ecological zone recording 33,155 candidates.
The Upper East Region registered 15,192 candidates, while the Upper West Region recorded the lowest figure with 9,249 candidates.
Education authorities are expected to monitor the examinations closely to ensure a smooth and credible process nationwide.