The Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) took off yesterday across the country at visited examination centres.
Our correspondents visited some of the centres and we bring to our readers their reports.
From Wa, Lydia Darlington Fordjour reports that 13,113 students, made up 6,754 boys and 6,359 girls are undertaking this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination(BECE), in the Upper West Region which started yesterday.
The Wa municipality presented the highest number of candidates with a total of 3,004 candidates comprising 1,397 boys and 1,607 girls while the Daffaima/Busie/Issa District presented 430 candidates made up of 236 boys and 194 girls.
This statistics were made known by the Regional Director of Education, Mr Duncan Nso when he toured some BECE centres in the Wa municipality together with the Regional Minister, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih and some staff of the Regional Coordinating Council, (RCC) on Monday to wish the students success.
Mr Nso urged the students to avoid every form of examination malpractice to ensure that they sailed through successfully.
For his part, the Regional Minister Dr Salih challenged the students to target the government’s free senior high school (SHS) programme and make the most of the examination by scoring good grades to facilitate their admission into the SHS.
“Try and do away with any foreign material, those of you using phones, put them away and make sure you do not indulge in practices that will mar the beauty of the exercise this week,” he told the students and urged them to use their free periods in the course of the week to revise their notes.
The team visited three centres made up of seven sub centres and included a section for students with visual impairment at the Wa School for the Blind which was also a centre for some other students.
The ongoing Basic Education Certificate Examination took off peacefully in all 13 examination centres in the Sunyani municipality of the Bono Region yesterday, reports Daniel Dzirasah, Sunyani.
At exactly 9am the examination began at the centres in earnest without any hiccups, according to some supervisors who spoke with the Ghanaian Times here in Sunyani.
A total of 3,777 candidates made up of 1,837 and 1,948 males and females respectively, were expected to write the examinations at the designated centres.
They are Boahenkorkor, Abesim, Atronie, Twene Amanfo Technical Senior High and Sunyani Senior High Schools.
The Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive, Madam Justina Owusu Banahene, who visited some of the examination centres described the organisation and orderliness of the examination in the area as excellent.
According to her, the atmosphere was very conducive for the exams and urged all the candidates to work hard and come out in flying colours.
During the tour it came up that the only two female candidates who registered by their school Nuriya Islamic JHS, failed to show up for the examination.
The superior, Alex Yeboah, at the Twene Amanfo Technical Senior High School centre could not assign reasons to that.
At the Boahenkorkor centre, the superior who only gave his name as Quansah failed to talk to the Ghanaian Times on the excuse that he has not been authorised to speak to the media.
From Ho Kafui Gati reports that a total of 2,938 candidates yesterday began the 2019 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in the Ho municipality.
The number is made up of 1,431 boys, 1,507 females and one physically challenged male adding to the male number in the municipality.
The Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Letsa, who visited some of the examination centres, said he was satisfied with all the preparations towards the examination.
He advised the candidates to put away fear and to answer the questions with clarity.
The Regional Minister said with hard work and determination, he was sure all of them would come out with flying colours.
He urged the supervisors and invigilators to make sure there is no cheating and they must eschew all forms of examination malpractices during the period of the entire examination.
The Volta Regional Education Director, Madam Enyonam Afi Amafugah, advised the candidates to read the questions with understanding before answering them to avoid deviation.
The Ayawaso West Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Madam Sandra Owusu-Ahenkora, has cautioned candidates of Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) against examination malpractices, reports Lawrence Vomafa-Akpalu.
Such acts, she said could result in the cancellation of their examination papers there by jeopardising their future.
Madam Owusu Ahenkorah said this yesterday after touring the five examination centres in the municipality.
About 1306 candidates are writing the examination this year from the municipality.
She also used the opportunity to distribute Koko King Breakfast packs, minerals and bottles of water donated by Special Group of Companies.
The examination, she explained was just the normal class work and must not be seen as a do or die affair that would force them to engage in the acts that violate examination laws.
The MCE stated that with the Free Senior High School programme in place, it behoves all BECE candidates to concentrate and pass the examination without any hitch in order to benefit from the President’s package for every Ghanaian child.
“The examination is just a normal classroom work, relax and answer all questions in order to be part of the free senior high school programme in three years’ time,” she added.
Mrs Ahenkora urged the West African Examination Council (WAEC) to ensure that no incident of examination leakage occurred else the council will not be forgiven.
Examination leakages she stated, does not come from the students but from their outfit, it is therefore their responsibility to safeguard the future of the candidates by securing the papers properly.
The MCE urges parents to see the examination as the starting point of their wards’ future and advised them against acts that could jeopardise their future aspirations.
Caption /Madam Owusu-Ahenkora distributing the packs to the candidates.
Students in yellow uniform Wa School blind
Other students in the other picture