Over 500,000 Final-Year SHS Students Begin 2026 WASSCE with Oral English

Accra, Ghana – By Seth Yeboah

Final-year Senior High School students in Ghana have started the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination, joining candidates across West Africa. The exams kicked off today with Oral English.

According to the West African Examinations Council, 509,862 candidates are registered for this year’s WASSCE in Ghana. Of that number, 225,274 are male, and 284,588 are female.

Practical exams and project work in subjects like Visual Arts and Home Economics began earlier as part of the 2026 cycle. While Ghana has run Oral English as a separate paper in recent years, this year’s test is being held at the same time across all WAEC member countries.

The 2026 exams also mark a full return to the traditional May–June calendar for the region. The timetable was disrupted by COVID-19, with the 2020 exams pushed to July–September and the 2021 edition held from August to October. Since then, Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia have worked to realign their academic calendars to restore the original schedule for the regional exam.

Regional breakdown

The Ashanti Region has the highest number of candidates with 127,702 students — 57,885 males and 69,817 females.

The Eastern Region follows with 70,099 candidates, comprising 29,810 males and 40,289 females. The Bono, Bono East, and Ahafo regions together have 67,739 candidates: 29,658 males and 38,081 females.

Other regions:

Central Region: 61,303 candidates
Greater Accra Region: 48,099 candidates — 22,418 males, 25,681 females
Volta Region: 41,622 candidates — 19,261 males, 22,361 females
Oti and Western North: 35,620 candidates — 14,480 males, 21,140 females
Northern ecological zone covering Northern, North East, and Savannah regions: 33,155 candidates
Upper East Region: 15,192 candidates — 6,093 males, 9,099 females
Upper West Region: 9,249 candidates — 3,985 males, 5,264 females

WAEC officials have urged candidates to follow examination rules and avoid malpractice as the exams run in the coming weeks.