"As you begin this examination, remember that you are a special group of students making history as the first group of candidates to be examined on the newly introduced Common Core Curriculum — the standards-based curriculum," he said in a statement copied to the Graphic Online.

Due to the introduction of three new subjects, the 2024 examination will be taken in six days instead of the previous five days — Monday to Friday.

This year’s school candidates will write three new subjects.

The new subjects are Career Technology, Creative Art and Design, and Arabic.

Career Technology and Creative Art and Design, culled from the previous Basic Design and Technology (BDT), will be written by all the candidates, WAEC said.

Arabic will, however, be optional for candidates in Islamic basic schools.

The examination will start on Monday, July 8 and end on Monday, July 15, 2024.

A total of 569,005 final-year junior high school (JHS) students will sit for the maiden BECE for school candidates under the new Common Core Curriculum.

The Director-General said the examination marked a crucial transition from basic education to senior high school and encouraged the candidates to approach the examination with confidence, knowing that they had prepared thoroughly and had been well-equipped by their teachers and parents to achieve great results.

"As part of the arrangements to take this exam, I want to assure all our 569,095 candidates that the entire nation stands behind you,” Dr Nkansah said.

"As you sit for your examinations, I encourage you to stay focused, manage your time effectively, and believe in your abilities," the Director-General of GES said, and urged them to "Remember to read and understand each question carefully before providing answers".

A unique characteristic of the standards-based curriculum is its precise calibration of student knowledge and competency at each grade level, known as content standards or grade-level expectations.

Its adoption, the basic education system is being guided by a carefully designed body of knowledge, skills, values and core competencies.

The introduction of the common core curriculum was also intended to alter how teachers teach, emphasising the utility of creative, inclusive pedagogies and improved classroom assessment practices.

This is to enable schools to increase students’ interest in learning, engaging them deeply and meaningfully in rich, rigorous content that will adequately prepare them for national development in a rapidly changing global environment.