<< Back             Poser >> BECE candidates with grade nine in English, Maths eligible for self-placement  Dr Clement Abass Apaak – Deputy Minister of Education The government has opened the self-placement system to the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates who obtained a score of nine in either English Language or Mathematics, or in both subjects.  The move is to provide an alternative pathway for candidates whose examination results did not meet the requirements for automatic placement.  Dr Clement Abass Apaak, the Deputy Minister of Education, announced this on Monday at a press briefing on the 2026 BECE placement into the second cycle schools.  He said 57,259 candidates fell within the category that did not receive automatic placement based on their examination outcomes.  Of that number, 35,382 obtained a score of nine in either English Language or Mathematics, while 18,505 obtained a score of 9 in both subjects.  He said those candidates would be allowed to use the self-placement portal to select schools and programmes with available vacancies.  Dr Apaak encouraged affected candidates and their parents not to lose hope but to take advantage of the available opportunities.  A separate arrangement has been made for 3,372 candidates whose results are currently unavailable.  He said those candidates would not be placed at this stage but would be given another opportunity to re-sit the examination to enable them to progress along the educational pathway.  The decision, Mr Apaak said, aimed at ensuring that young people were not unnecessarily left behind while maintaining the integrity of the examination and placement systems.  “The self-placement portal is already live, with candidates advised to consider the full range of available public and private schools, Senior High Technical Schools and technical and vocational institutions,” he said.  The announcement comes as the Ministry releases the 2026 CSSPS results, under which 527,932 out of 604,567 qualified candidates have, so far, been placed in secondary, technical and vocational institutions.  Source: GNA Ghana Business News	Nigeria’s trade surplus jumps 67% to N12.59trn in Q2’26 By Yinka Kolawole Nigeria’s merchandise trade surplus surged by 66.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter to N12.59 trillion in the second quarter of 2026, from N7.55 trillion recorded in Q1, as a sharp rise in exports widened the gap between the country’s earnings from exports and its import bill. In its foreign trade statistics report released yesterday, […] Maritime Reforms: Nigeria’s ports record 12.3% rise in cargo throughput By Emeka Anaeto The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), has reported significant growth in cargo throughput, vessel traffic, container movements, vehicle traffic among others in the second quarter of 2026, Q2’26, attributing the development to the various reforms the Federal Government introduced in the maritime sector. This was contained in the NPA Operational Performance Report for […] Foreign investors pull out N266bn from Nigeria in 3 yrs Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) net capital outflow from the Nigerian equities market widened by more than 1,073 per cent in three years, rising from N22.68 billion in the first seven months of 2023 to N266.07 billion by July 2026, as foreign investors took more money out of the market than they brought in. Nigeria’s reserves hit $54bn, highest in 18 years Nigeria’s external reserves have risen to $54.08 billion, reaching their highest level in nearly 18 years and moving further above the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) projection for the end of 2026. Latest CBN data showed that the reserves reached $54.08 billion on September 3, compared with $53.99 billion on September 2 and $53.90 billion […] Dangote Petroleum Refinery set for landmark IPO following SEC approval … Proposed 4.1bn share offer could raise approximately ₦2.15trnBy Udeme Akpan The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the commencement of the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE, paving the way for what could become one of the largest capital market transactions in Nigeria’s history. The approval was conveyed […] PremiumTrust Bank gets dual credit rating upgrades By Henry Obetta PremiumTrust Bank has received dual credit rating upgrades from Agusto& Co. and DataPro Limited, underscoring its financial strength, sound risk management and growth trajectory. Agusto upgraded the Bank’s long-term rating from BBB+ to A- and short-term rating from A2 to A1, while DataPro upgraded its long-term rating from A- to A and […]