55,000 BECE Candidates to miss SHS placement over English, Maths failure – CSSPS
About 55,000 candidates who sat for the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) will not be placed into second-cycle schools after failing either English Language or Mathematics.
The Coordinator of the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS), Sherif Sulemana, disclosed this on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Thursday, September 3, 2026.
According to him, out of 620,000 candidates who sat for this year’s examination, only about 565,000 have qualified for placement.”
Based on our analysis, we have about 565,000 qualified for placement this year,” Mr Sulemana said.
He explained that the placement rule is clear: No candidate who fails English or Mathematics can be placed, regardless of performance in other subjects.
“You are disqualified from placement if you have failed either English or Mathematics,” he stressed.
Mr Sulemana clarified that Grade 9 does not automatically mean failure, as raw scores are also considered.
“The raw scores—maybe I could have shown you the data—you would find that somebody got one, somebody got 10 out of 100, somebody got 12 or 20 out of 100, and that qualifies as a failure,” he said.
On overall performance, he revealed that only 17 percent of candidates, about 107,000 students, obtained aggregate 6 to 18, while about 252,000 candidates, representing 35 percent, obtained aggregate 6 to 24.
Meanwhile, the CSSPS says it has activated call centres and regional resolution centres to handle complaints during the placement exercise.
“If you are in a district far from the regional centre, all you have to do is call the call centre, let them understand your issue, and that will be resolved for you,” Mr Sulemana assured.
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