The school selection and placement process for candidates of the 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) officially commences today, Tuesday, May 27, and will conclude on Friday, June 6.
This announcement was made at a news conference outlining the new guidelines for school selection by Sena Okity-Duah, Coordinator of the Free SHS (FSHS) Secretariat. She revealed that teams from the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Service and the Free SHS Secretariat will be deployed nationwide to conduct sensitization activities. These activities are designed to guide candidates, parents, and school authorities on the revised selection procedures.
Key Guidelines for School Selection:
Total Choices: Candidates are required to select seven schools in total, comprising five main choices and two alternatives. These choices must be made in order of preference.
Main Choices Breakdown: Of the five main schools selected, at least three must be boarding schools, while the remaining two should be day schools.
Category A, B, and C Schools:
Candidates are permitted to choose Category B schools as either day or boarding.
Similarly, Category C schools can be selected as either day or boarding options.
Strict Prohibitions:
Candidates are strictly prohibited from selecting more than one Category A school.
Not more than two schools from Category B can be selected.
While students may choose schools from Category C, they are not allowed to select all five main options from that category.
Finality of Placement: Once a candidate is placed in a selected school, that choice cannot be changed.
Specialized Programs:
Candidates interested in pursuing pure TVET programmes must choose five institutions across Categories A, B, and C, with options for either boarding or day.
Similarly, students aspiring for careers in fields such as engineering, medicine, or space science are encouraged to select STEM-based schools across all categories.
Parental Involvement is Crucial:
The FSHS Coordinator further emphasized the critical importance of parental involvement in this exercise. She stressed that no selection form should be submitted without a parent’s or guardian’s signature. Parents are also advised to keep a copy of the completed form for their own reference after submission to the headmaster of the candidate’s junior high school.
