By: Benjamin Nii Nai Anyetei
The 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) officially commenced on Wednesday August 20, 2025 with a total of 461,640 school candidates sitting for the Oral English paper across Ghana. This includes 207,381 males and 254,259 females, reflecting a slight increase of 1,029 candidates from the 460,611 who wrote the exams in 2024.
The exams follow a phased schedule: the practical papers began on August 4, while the main written examinations, including today’s Oral English, officially kicked off on August 20. In total, the examination will run through September 19, covering 65 subjects, with each candidate expected to sit for an average of eight papers .
This year also marks the fourth consecutive edition of the “Ghana-Only WASSCE,” introduced in 2021 to allow full national control over the examination calendar after COVID-19 disruptions. Previously, Ghana’s WASSCE was synchronized with Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and The Gambia.
The Head of Public Affairs at WAEC, John Kapi, confirmed that adequate government funding has been secured for this year’s exams, ensuring timely dispatch of question papers and logistics to 701 examination centres nationwide.
Last year, out of the 460,611 registered candidates, 4,609 (1.0%) failed to sit for the exams . WAEC also cancelled the entire results of 483 candidates for possessing mobile phones in the exam hall and annulled 4,108 subject results for bringing in foreign materials according to WAEC Ghana.
The Ghana Education Service (GES) has again warned candidates, invigilators, and supervisors that exam malpractice will not be tolerated, stressing that any staff found complicit would face dismissal.
