EXAMINATIONS · TIMETABLE
Examination timetable, 2025/2026
Every examination date in the session, from the Common Entrance in the second term to the Qualifying Examination in the third, with the rules that apply to a candidate on the morning of a paper.
How the examination year is arranged
The 2025/2026 session runs in three terms. The examination season sits almost entirely in the second and third: the Common Entrance in March, WASSCE from April, the Qur'anic and Islamic Studies Certificate in May, the Basic Education Certificate Examination in June, and the Qualifying Examination with SS 1 placement in the first week of July. Internal promotion examinations are written at the end of each term by the schools themselves.
Dates on this page are the Ministry's published dates for State series. For WASSCE, SSCE and the Trade Test the examining council issues its own final timetable, which the Senior Secondary Schools Management Board circulates to every principal as soon as it is received; where a council date and a date on this page differ, the council's date governs.
A change to a published date is made only by the Honourable Commissioner, is circularised to every education authority and principal, and is posted here. Nothing else moves a paper — not a public holiday falling nearby, not a local disruption, and not a request from a school.
The season ahead
Thu 3 September 2026
Common Entrance
Primary 6, one morning sitting
Mon 14 December 2026
BECE first paper
Ten papers over five weekdays
Thu 7 January 2027
Qualifying Examination
Five papers over two days
Tue 25 August 2026
Entries close
BECE and Qualifying Examination
Term structure
The three terms of the 2025/2026 session, with the internal examination periods each school works to. All public and approved private schools follow this calendar.
| Term | Opens | Closes | Mid-term break | Internal examinations | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Term | 15 September 2025 | 19 December 2025 | 3 – 7 November 2025 | 8 – 18 December 2025 | 14 weeks |
| Second Term | 5 January 2026 | 2 April 2026 | 16 – 20 February 2026 | 23 March – 2 April 2026 | 13 weeks |
| Third Term | 20 April 2026 | 24 July 2026 | 8 – 12 June 2026 | 13 – 24 July 2026 | 14 weeks |
BECE paper timetable
Ten papers over five consecutive weekdays, two a day. Candidates are seated 30 minutes before each paper. A candidate is not admitted more than 30 minutes after a paper begins and may not leave the hall until it ends.
| Paper | Subject | Date | Session | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | English Language | Mon 14 December 2026 | Morning — 9:00 | 2 hours |
| Paper 2 | Mathematics | Mon 14 December 2026 | Afternoon — 12:00 | 2 hours |
| Paper 3 | Basic Science | Tue 15 December 2026 | Morning — 9:00 | 1 hour 45 minutes |
| Paper 4 | Basic Technology | Tue 15 December 2026 | Afternoon — 12:00 | 1 hour 45 minutes |
| Paper 5 | Social Studies | Wed 16 December 2026 | Morning — 9:00 | 1 hour 30 minutes |
| Paper 6 | Civic Education | Wed 16 December 2026 | Afternoon — 12:00 | 1 hour 30 minutes |
| Paper 7 | Hausa Language | Thu 17 December 2026 | Morning — 9:00 | 1 hour 45 minutes |
| Paper 8 | Islamic Studies or Christian Religious Studies | Thu 17 December 2026 | Afternoon — 12:00 | 1 hour 45 minutes |
| Paper 9 | Business Studies | Fri 18 December 2026 | Morning — 9:00 | 1 hour 30 minutes |
| Paper 10 | Agricultural Science | Fri 18 December 2026 | Afternoon — 12:00 | 1 hour 30 minutes |
When each series is written
The first paper of each series this session, with the published window and the number of centres deployed. Council series follow the council's own final timetable.
| Code | Examination | Level | First paper | Published window | Centres |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PT | Placement Test | Any | Fri 28 August 2026 | On demand, within 10 working days | 44 |
| CE | Common Entrance Examination | Primary 6 | Thu 3 September 2026 | Third week of March | 1,180 |
| WASSCE | West African Senior School Certificate Examination | SS 3 | Wed 4 November 2026 | April to June | 268 |
| TTT | Technical Trade Test | Trade 3 | Tue 10 November 2026 | May to June | 22 |
| SSCE | Senior School Certificate Examination (NECO) | SS 3 | Mon 16 November 2026 | June to July | 268 |
| QISC | Qur'anic and Islamic Studies Certificate | Tsangaya / Islamiyya | Mon 23 November 2026 | Second week of May | 310 |
| BECE | Basic Education Certificate Examination | JSS 3 | Mon 14 December 2026 | Second week of June | 620 |
| QE | Qualifying Examination | JSS 3 | Thu 7 January 2027 | First week of July | 620 |
| ALC | Adult Literacy Certificate | Literacy Level 3 | Tue 2 March 2027 | October | 96 |
Examination dates in the session
-
15 June 2026
First Term examinations
Completed. Conducted by All boards, Mon.
-
25 August 2026
BECE and Qualifying Examination registration closes
Ahead. Conducted by Ministry — Examinations Unit, Tue.
-
3 September 2026
Common Entrance Examination
Ahead. Conducted by Ministry — Examinations Unit, Thu.
-
1 October 2026
Second Term examinations
Ahead. Conducted by All boards, Thu.
-
4 November 2026
WASSCE written papers begin
Ahead. Conducted by WAEC / KSSMB, Wed.
-
22 November 2026
Qur'anic and Islamic Studies Certificate
Ahead. Conducted by KSQISMB, Sun.
-
14 December 2026
Basic Education Certificate Examination
Ahead. Conducted by Ministry — Examinations Unit, Mon.
-
7 January 2027
Qualifying Examination and SS 1 placement
Ahead. Conducted by KSSMB, Thu.
-
29 January 2027
Third Term examinations and promotion decisions
Ahead. Conducted by All boards, Fri.
A candidate's morning
The same sequence at every centre in the State, for every series. A candidate who follows it will not lose a paper to a formality.
Arrive an hour before the paper
Centres open 60 minutes before the first paper of the day. Find your hall and your seat number from the seating list posted at the entrance. Candidates are seated 30 minutes before the paper begins.
Show the photo card at the gate
The card is checked at the gate and again at the desk against the biometric record. A candidate without a card is referred to the supervisor, who may admit on the school's attendance register and the head teacher's written identification, but only before the paper begins.
Leave prohibited items outside
Telephones, smart watches, bags, books and any printed or written material are surrendered at the gate or left at home. There is no storage at the centre and nothing surrendered is guaranteed to be returned. Carrying any of them into the hall cancels the whole series.
Sign the attendance register
The invigilator brings the register to the desk with the candidate's photograph on it. Sign against your own photograph and examination number, and tell the invigilator at once if the photograph is not yours.
Write the paper
Question papers are opened in front of the candidates. Write your examination number on every sheet. Late admission closes 30 minutes after the start, and no candidate may leave before the end of the paper.
Stay seated until scripts are collected
Scripts are collected and counted at the desk while candidates remain seated. The hall is released only when the count agrees with the attendance register.
What may be carried into the hall
This is the whole list. Anything not on it is prohibited, whatever it is for.
- The photo card issued by the school
- Blue or black pens, HB pencils and an eraser
- A ruler and a mathematical set
- A non-programmable calculator, for Mathematics and the science papers only
- A clear bottle of water with no label
- Prescribed medication, declared to the supervisor before the paper
- A hearing aid, spectacles or an approved assistive device declared at entry
- The school uniform, worn
Prohibited in every hall, in every series
Telephones of any kind, smart watches and any device that can store or transmit — whether switched off, in a bag or in a pocket. Notes, textbooks, past papers, printed sheets, writing on the body, on clothing or on an instrument. A programmable or graphing calculator. Any bag brought to the desk. Food. A second person's photo card.
Possession is the offence; use does not have to be shown. A candidate found with a prohibited item has the whole series cancelled and is barred from entering for two sessions, and where impersonation is involved the matter is referred to the police under the Examination Malpractices Act. A supervisor, invigilator or head teacher who assists is dismissed and prosecuted, and the centre loses its accreditation.
Keep the season's dates to hand
Confirm your centre before the first paper, and read the fee position so that nothing is collected from a candidate that should not be.