This year’s Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) yesterday began at 2,038 centres across the country.
The five-day examinations have both public and private school candidates sitting for the exams for the first time.
It involves a total of 552,276 candidates from 18,501 schools across the country.
Out of the number, 276,988 are males while 275,288 are females. The private candidates are made up of 634 males and 498 females respectively.
ABIGAIL ARTHUR and ANITA ANKRAH report that while some schools in Accra began exactly at 9: 00 a.m. yesterday, others delayed for about thirty minutes before commencing due to the delay in the arrival of question papers.
The delay in those schools got most of the candidates nervous as they had turned up at the centre well ahead of 9:00 a.m. when the exams were scheduled to take off.
Other candidates were also relaxed as the delay made them calm down while reminiscing on what they had studied as they got ready for the papers.
At the De Youngsters International School, a centre at Adenta Housing Down where a total of 12 schools are participating in the exams, most of the candidates had reported around 7:30 a.m. when these reporters got there.
Mrs Gloria Mensah, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Education Directorate of Adenta told these reporters that although the first papers went well, few absentees were recorded but was yet to find out the cause, adding that no casualties were recorded.
She encouraged the candidates to do their best as she believed they were well prepared by their teachers to write and pass out successfully into the Senior High School (SHS) level.
“They should tackle the questions with confidence and we believe they would come out with flying colours,” she said.
Meanwhile, some students in an interaction with the Ghanaian Times on Sunday said they were prepared to make themselves, their schools and families proud.
Also from the Gbawe Islamic School centre, an invigilator, Mr Solomon Lakai said students were well-behaved and prepared towards the examination.
Adding that, no examination malpractices were recorded although there was one absentee.
In the Ablekuma North Municipality of the Greater Accra Region, the exercise took off smoothly with a total number of 2,713 candidates in 82 schools comprising 16 public schools and 66 private schools are sitting for the examination, with 1,462 candidates from the public schools and 1251 from the private.
In a monitoring tour of the examination centres, the District Director of Education Mr Ebenezer Perry Ofori, prevailed on the candidates to comport themselves well during the examination, as their conduct would determine the outcome of the examination.
Examination centres visited included Saleria 1 Basic School, Saleria 2 Basic School, Christ Union Academy, Kwashieman Center A and Kwashieman Center B all in the municipality.
Among the monitoring team was a representatives of the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Edmund Nii Lomo, the Head of Planning, Monitoring, Data, Research and Records, Mrs. Stella Abbey, Assistant Information officer, Ms Gifty Okyere, and a Personal Assistant to the MCE, Mr Magnus Quarcopone.
Mr Ofori urged the candidates to comport themselves till the examination was over, adding that any malpractice at this time could harm their chances of success in the short to long term.
KINGSLEY E. HOPE reports from the Ashanti regional capital Kumasi that a total of 9,758 candidates from 222 schools are writing the examination in the Kumasi metropolis.
Out of the number, 4,687 are boys with the girls being 5,071.
The Kumasi Metro Education Public Relations Officer, Nana Yeboah Asiamah II, said it was too early in the day to know the number of absentees.
However, he was sure the candidates would put up good behaviour during the examination.
Deputy Director of Administration at the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, Yvonne Naboo, who toured some of the Examination centres, encouraged the candidates to resist all forms of examination malpractices that could cut short their education.
CLEMENT ADZEI BOYE reports from TAKORADI in the Western Region, total of 5,433 candidates were sitting at 18 centres in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis of the Western Region out of which 2,874 are boys while 2,559 are girls.
According to statistics from the Metropolitan Education Directorate, released yesterday it added that for public schools, 4,663 candidates are sitting for the exams with 2,490 being boys and 2,173 girls, while with the private sector, out of the total of 770, 384 are boys and girls,386.
In an interview with the Ghanaian Times, the Metropolitan Education Director, Sekondi-Takoradi, Mrs Sally Nelly Coleman, advised invigilators to avoid acts that would jeopardise the future of the BECE candidates.
Invigilators, she argued, should desists from instilling fear in the candidates, who had suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic and also endured some industrial actions.
Mrs Coleman, however, noted, teachers had done enough to close the gaps and ensure candidates were well-prepared for the BECE.
“Be vigilant, Don’t help them to cheat by reading answers to the children, stay away from such acts. Already, they have gone through COVID-19 restrictions and for nine months were not school.
The Metro Education Director added that, BECE was first step to the senior secondary school and future careers, and, therefore, urged invigilators to desist from shouting on them, saying “ help them to shade their index numbers for the objectives correctly.”
Mrs Coleman recalled that, the candidates had gone through 11 years of basic education and that it was time for them write the BECE, pass successfully bring honour to teachers, parents and also in fulfilment of the vision of the Ghana Education Service.
BY TIMES REPORTERS
