The Ghana Education Service register of courses is the list of programmes a school may offer. On recent registers the columns include Agricultural Science, Business, Technical, Home Economics, Visual Arts, General Arts and General Science. Some schools are also marked for STEM or for Languages. A school with no mark for a programme does not offer it. Ask your school for the register for your year, or read it where the Ghana Education Service publishes it. GLearn does not republish that file.
General Science
Where it can lead
Students choose General Science when they want to continue in science. It is the usual path toward health courses, engineering, computing and other science degrees. A university or a training college publishes its own entry rules. A place on General Science is not an offer from a university.
BECE subjects to take seriously
Mathematics and Science are the BECE subjects this programme continues, and both are cores in the aggregate. English Language and Social Studies still count. The two best other grades count too. A low grade in Mathematics or Science is a reason to practise those papers. It is not a cut off written here.
Before you choose it
The subjects you will sit at WASSCE depend on the school and on the curriculum for your year. Do not assume every General Science class sits the same electives. Your school, and the official subject list for that curriculum, are the list.
General Arts
Where it can lead
General Arts is the broad programme for languages, history, government, religious studies and related subjects, in the combination the school offers. Students use it toward law, teaching, journalism, languages and public service. The institution you apply to later sets the subjects and grades it wants.
BECE subjects to take seriously
English Language is the core this programme leans on, and Social Studies is the other core closest to it. Mathematics and Science still count in the aggregate. You do not skip them because you prefer arts.
Before you choose it
Schools do not all offer the same arts subjects. Literature, economics, geography, government, history, religious studies, French and a Ghanaian language are examples, not a promise that your school teaches each one.
Business
Where it can lead
Business prepares you for accounting, banking, management and marketing, and for further study in those fields. Entry rules are set by the university, the technical university or the college, not by this page.
BECE subjects to take seriously
Mathematics is the core this programme uses most. English Language matters for every later course, and it is a core. Social Studies and Science still sit in the aggregate. A business choice does not remove Science from the six grades.
Before you choose it
The business subjects at SHS vary by school. Read the register before you treat one school as if it teaches the same business subjects as another.
Visual Arts
Where it can lead
Visual Arts is for students who want to study art and design. It can lead to creative work, design courses and teaching in that field. Some architecture and design courses also ask for mathematics. Check the institution. This page does not list its grades.
BECE subjects to take seriously
The aggregate is still the same six grades. Work you made in class is not a BECE grade unless it was a subject you sat and WAEC graded. Practise the four cores. Your two best other grades still help the total.
Before you choose it
The art subjects differ by school. The register is the list, not a guess from the school name.
Home Economics
Where it can lead
Home Economics is the programme for food, clothing, management in the home and hospitality. It can lead to work and further study in those fields, including teaching them. The institution sets its own entry rules.
BECE subjects to take seriously
Science is useful later for food and nutrition, and Mathematics is useful for the numbers in management. Both are cores, so they already count. English Language and Social Studies count too. None of that is a grade this page requires.
Before you choose it
Confirm that the school offers Home Economics. A school that does not list it cannot place you on it.
Agricultural Science
Where it can lead
Agricultural Science is for students who want to study farming, crops, animals and agribusiness. It can lead to further agricultural study and to work on the land or in that business. A course such as veterinary medicine may ask for science subjects. Check the institution.
BECE subjects to take seriously
Science and Mathematics are the cores this programme continues. English Language and Social Studies still count in the six. There is no agricultural cut off on this page.
Before you choose it
Not every school has a farm programme. The register shows which ones do.
Technical and TVET
Where it can lead
Technical programmes, including TVET at a technical or vocational institute, place you into a trade or a technology. Building, electrical work, mechanical work, fashion and hospitality are examples of the kind of programme the register lists. The appendix of the register names the actual trades. This page does not copy that appendix. The path can lead to skilled work and to further study at a technical university or a similar institution. It is a full placement. A later course that asks for the science electives of a General Science class may not treat a technical programme as the same thing. Read that institution's own rules.
BECE subjects to take seriously
Mathematics and Science prepare you for technical work, and both count in the aggregate. The formula does not change because the programme is technical.
Before you choose it
If you want only TVET institutes, the guidelines for the year say how to fill the form. Follow that file. GLearn does not restate the category rules, because a copied rule goes stale.