The Executive Director of the Institute for Education Studies (IFEST), Dr Peter Anti, has urged private schools to provide concrete evidence to support allegations that the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) deliberately targeted them in the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results.
He cautioned against making claims that could undermine the credibility of WAEC without first establishing evidence of wrongdoing.
Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, Dr Anti said concerns over the performance of private schools in the BECE have been raised repeatedly in recent years, but the allegations have often not been backed by sufficient evidence.
“We should be careful not to run down an examination body when we have not had concrete evidence to prove that they are sabotaging a particular group of students,” he said.
According to him, similar concerns have surfaced almost every year since 2022, yet those making the allegations have not provided enough evidence to establish deliberate discrimination against private schools.
“It seems this issue keeps coming up. It has been recurring over the years since 2022, and they don’t come with any concrete evidence,” Dr Anti said.
He acknowledged that many parents, including people working within the education sector, have children in private schools and are naturally concerned about their academic performance.
“Most of us have our children in the private schools and we are concerned about their academic performance, but that does not mean we should follow blindly when such allegations come up,” he cautioned.
Dr Anti said rather than relying on broad claims, private schools’ associations should provide data showing exactly how their candidates performed and how that performance compares with previous years.
He also called on WAEC to provide detailed data to help stakeholders understand the trend in BECE performance.
“So maybe WAEC should give us the data for us to know the trend analysis,” he said.
He believes the discussion would be more meaningful if the results were disaggregated to show which categories of private schools are experiencing declines in performance.
“We should have a disaggregation of the results because even with private schools, there are types. So, if performance is dipping, which of them exactly?” he asked.
Dr Anti said such information would bring greater clarity and transparency to the debate and help stakeholders identify the real issues affecting students’ performance.
He further questioned why the concerns had not first been supported by evidence from the private schools’ associations before becoming a wider public debate.
“This should have come from the private schools association before we even jump here,” he said.
Dr Anti expressed concern that allegations against WAEC have become almost routine whenever BECE results are released, with the examination body being criticised before the claims are properly investigated.
“This seems to be the core when BECE results are released. Every year, they throw allegations at WAEC without concrete evidence and we all jump on it and chastise WAEC,” he said.
He stressed that while concerns about students’ performance must be taken seriously, stakeholders should avoid rushing to conclusions.
“This time around, we’re not going to do that,” Dr Anti stated, calling for evidence-based discussions rather than allegations that could unnecessarily damage public confidence in WAEC.
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