Success in any exam requires enough preparation and being thoughtful to achieve the required grade. The Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) is the main examination to qualify JSS3 students for admission into senior secondary (SS1) and vocational schools in Nigeria and Nigeria. So you have to have the required grade to be admitted into either a science commercial or art class.
Students who want to go to science class must ensure that they have at least a grade C in Mathematics, English Language, Basic Science, Basic Technology, Civic Education, and any other three subjects. The same is also true for commercial or art classes. Therefore, the first step to passing BECE is to know the subjects you must have good grades in, and every other step will follow.
One thing I have discovered about students who fail this exam is a lack of preparation. Some of them are so unbothered that they only get to know the BECE timetable a day before the exam. This is a carefree attitude and shows that such a student doesn’t care whether they pass or not.
Before I give you the steps to pass BECE, I would like you to go through the grading system in Nigeria and Ghana when preparing for the examination.
The BECE grading system in Nigeria is as follows:
- 100 – 80 (A – Distinction)
- 60 – 79 (B – Upper Credit)
- 50 – 59 (C – Lower Credit)
- 40 – 49 (P – Pass)
- 0 – 39 (F – Fail)
Ghana BECE grading system
- 90-100 is graded as 1, GRADE AA+. It is the HIGHEST grade in the grading system.
- 80-89, the second category in this classification is graded as 2, GRADE A. it is denoted as HIGHER.
- 70-79, is grade 3, a B+ and is described as HIGH.
- 60 -69 is grade 4, GRADE B, described as HIGH AVERAGE.
- 55 – 60 is GRADE C+, classified as 5 and described as AVERAGE.
- LOW AVERAGE is a description of marks falling between 50-54 and GRADE C; number 6 in the grading system.
- Any mark ranging between 40-49 is considered as GRADE D+ and number 7; described as LOW
- 35-39 is GRADE E which is number 8, described as LOWER in the Stanine grading system.
- GRADE F, 9 characterized by 9 is the LOWEST grade, which falls between 0-34.
Success Tips
1. Read your books and solve enough questions
You can’t perform well in any exam if you are not familiar with the notes your teachers gave you and read to understand. There is no shortcut to this. One of the reasons teachers give notes and recommend textbooks is to understand the concepts behind each topic. So after you have studied your notes, you can then solve related questions on the topic you have read. Also, get BECE syllabus to help you with areas to study.
2. Source for past questions on various subjects you want to write
This will give you a hint of how BECE questions are structured. This method has helped many students because it enables students to know likely areas where questions might come from and leads to productive reading.
3. Be curious in Class
It is not out of place to ask your teachers topics or questions that you don’t understand. For instance, during your reading time, you may come across some problematic concepts about the topic, so it is proper and beneficial to go to your subject teacher and seek an explanation. Doing this will help your understanding and put you in a position to answer such questions well if asked during BECE.
4. You must read the instructions before you answer any questions.
Students who fail the exam are sometimes those who didn’t go through instruction. Therefore, read all the instructions before you start answering any questions.
5. Don’t panic
The fear of BECE is one of the reasons why JSS3 students fail the exam. You have to remain calm and confident in yourself and your ability to pass the exam. One of the things to do to boost your confidence level is when you start preparing for the exam early.
6. Work hard
Success is for those who study hard and give their best. There is no shortcut to success other than to work hard and be studious.
