BECE 2027 Timetable (Ghana): Dates and What to Know

If you are in JHS 3, the first thing you want to know is how many weeks you have left. Here is the honest position as of 29 October 2026: there is a reported window for the 2027 BECE, but WAEC Ghana has not yet listed a paper-by-paper timetable, and the window itself could still be adjusted.

What is reported

MyJoyOnline reported that the Ghana Education Service released its 2026/27 academic calendar for basic schools, with a statement signed by the GES head of public relations, and that the BECE is set for Wednesday 5 May to Wednesday 12 May 2027. The same calendar reportedly places the third term of the 2026/27 year from 20 April to 22 July 2027, which means your JHS 3 revision runs straight into the exam.

Why the dates could still move

Yen Ghana reported on 10 June 2026 that the Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, said the government was reviewing the BECE timetable to give longer gaps between papers because a Monday-to-Friday schedule placed unnecessary stress on students. He said the exam would begin on a Wednesday and end the following Wednesday, and that the GES Director-General would oversee implementation once a revised timetable was finalised.

That matches the Wednesday-to-Wednesday window in the GES calendar, but a window is not a timetable. WAEC publishes the detailed schedule, with each subject paper on its own date and time, on its timetable page. We recommend checking waecgh.org/timetable and your school's notice board rather than relying on social media posts.

How the 2026 BECE ran (for comparison)

Ghana News Agency reported that the 2026 BECE ran from Monday 4 May to Monday 11 May 2026. About 619,985 candidates were expected from 20,784 schools at 2,302 centres, writing eleven subjects. The first day included English Language papers and Religious and Moral Education, according to the published timetable reported by Yen Ghana. Yen Ghana reported that WAEC released the provisional 2026 BECE results after its awards meeting on 21 July 2026.

If 2027 follows a similar pattern, expect an exam in early May, results in July, and school selection and placement later in the year. That is an expectation from last year, not an announcement. For the placement side, see our CSSPS school placement guide.

What to do now, without waiting for the timetable

Count backwards from early May. Even if the exact day moves by a few days, you have roughly six months from now. A calm plan beats a panic in April.

Build a weekly revision schedule. Our guide to making a reading timetable will help you split your week between subjects. Give extra time to English Language and Mathematics because both are core subjects and, as we explain in the BECE grading system guide, reports say failing either can block placement.

Learn the paper formats now. WAEC's regulations booklet describes each subject's papers. Our subject guides cover the format and sample topics: BECE Mathematics, English, Integrated Science, Social Studies, RME, ICT and Career Technology.

Protect your continuous assessment. It makes up 30% of the total, so classwork and tests during JHS 3 are not optional.

Plan your exam week. Get your index number details, stationery and instruments ready early, and read our exam day checklist.

What your school handles

Candidates do not register themselves for the school BECE. WAEC's regulations say heads of school, or their representatives, register candidates through an electronic batch registration system, enter each candidate's continuous assessment scores, and check that subjects and fees are correct. The regulations also say no candidate may write at any centre other than the one assigned. In practice that means you should ask your head teacher early to confirm that your name, index details and subjects are right, rather than waiting until the week of the exam.

Private candidates have their own timetable on WAEC's timetable page for earlier years. If you are planning to sit as a private candidate, check WAEC Ghana directly, since our reporting is about school candidates.

A sample planning calendar

Because the window is reported for early May, a simple plan helps:

Adjust it to your school's mock exams, and treat it as a guide, not an official schedule.

What we will update

This page is provisional. When WAEC Ghana publishes a 2027 timetable or the GES confirms a change, we will update it. If you spot a conflict between this page and a WAEC or GES notice, trust the notice.

Practice

ExamPadi does not have BECE or Ghana-specific practice questions yet, and we would rather say so than overpromise. To be told when BECE practice launches, register your interest on the download page.