BECE School Selection | 2024 Guidelines & Criteria

Find a detailed Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) for Basic Education Certification Examination (BECE) candidates outlined by the Ghana Education Service (GES).

These guidelines and criteria assist parents, teachers, and students (BECE candidates) in the 2024 SHS school’s selection procedures.

Public Second Cycle Institutions have been categorized into four (4) groups namely;

Category A: Overly Subscribed Schools
Category B: Averagely Subscribed Schools
Category C: Under Subscribed Schools
Category D: All Catchment Area Day Schools

Explore the List of Category A, B, C, and D Senior High Schools (SHS) in Ghana.

Table of Contents

Number of SHS Schools per Category

SN	Category	No. of Schools
1	Category A	93
2	Category B	260
3	Category C	585
4	Category D	938
	TOTAL	938

School Type Count

SN	Categories	SHS	SHTS	TVET	TOTAL
1	Category A	54	5	34	93
2	Category B	178	50	32	260
3	Category C	282	140	163	585
	TOTAL	514	195	229	938

Categories of Candidates for Placement

Categories of candidates to be processed for placement include:

Category 1: 2024 BECE candidates (Regular Candidates)
Category 2: 2024 Private BECE Candidates (Private Candidates)
Category 3: Foreign Students (Foreign Candidates)
Category 4: Re-Entry Candidates (2023, 2022 & 2021)

Subjects for School Selection

Six (6) subjects are used for selection and placement (Four core + two best) these are:

Core

English
Mathematics
Integrated Science
Social Studies

Electives

Computing
French
BDT
RME
Ghanaian Language

Aggregate and Raw scores of candidates are used.

Choice of schools across regions is permitted.

SHS School Selection Guidelines for BECE Candidates

Please note that candidates:

Cannot choose more than one (1) School from Category A
Cannot select more than two (2) schools from Category B
May select five (5) schools from Category C and One (1) from Category D (Day) or Appendix 3 (Special Boarding)
Candidates who wish to offer purely TVET Programmes must select all six (6) TVET Institutes from CATEGORY A, B, and C as Day.

Cluster Choices

Select 5 schools (1 Category A, 2 Category B, and at least 2 Category C) from Appendix “4” for a consideration of 2nd placement if not placed in any of the six (6) main choices.
Schools in the main choices must not be repeated in the cluster schools
Candidates who wish to offer purely TVET Programmes can select all choices from TVET Institutions in CATEGORY A, B, and C as Day or Boarding
Lastly, candidates who wish to offer programme choice in relation to future job prospects such as Engineers. Physicians, Astronauts, etc. must select STEM School/science in all Six (6) choices from categories A, B, and C as Day or Boarding.

Did You Know
List of Senior High Schools (SHS) Approved for Cluster Selection

What are Catchment Area Day Schools (Category D)

These are Junior high Schools (JHS) located within a 10miles Radius (16km) of a Senior High School/Tech/Voc.
Must be purely Day or Day/Boarding School/Tech/Voc.
It could be one or more.
Could be located within different districts or regions.

Selection Criteria

Candidates who wish to enter SHS/TVET schools must, with guidance from parents/guardians and school authorities:

Select Six (6) schools and rank them in order of preference with the first being the most preferred choice (main choices)
Select Programmes and Residential preferences for each choice of school.
Select a compulsory Day school as the 6th choice within 16km of the JHS attended or choose a boarding school from the list of schools in Appendix 3 (Special Boarding).

Mode of Selection of SHS Schools

Private Candidates must select their school choices online via; https://www.waecinternetsolution.org
BECE School Candidates must select their SHS school choices using the School Selection Template.
Foreign Students must purchase foreign students application form, fill and submit to the Director for schools & Instructions at the GES headquarters, Accra.
BECE Candidates are supposed to select six (6) 2nd cycle schools of their choice for placement.
The mode of selection of the schools differs in terms of Categories of Candidates
School Candidates Select their schools and forward them to their district’s Education Offices through their JHS Heads.

30% Public JHS Allocation

30% of the total vacancies declared by each of the Category ‘A’ schools are reserved for candidates from the Public Basic Schools (JHS) Implying that 30% of the total vacancies declared by all Category ‘A’ schools are set aside for Public Basic Schools (JHS) candidates who have selected that particular Category ‘A’ school.