Sekondi/Takoradi: WASSCE takes off smoothly

The conduct of the first Paper, Oral English in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) on Tuesday, went on smoothly in the Sekondi/Takoradi metropolis in the Western Region.

At 8:30 am, candidates were seated awaiting instructions to start work.

However, in view of inadequate equipment for the exercise, coupled with the large number of students at some of the centres, the examination supervisors were compelled to run the system in shifts.

As a result of inadequate sound systems, which are a necessity in writing Oral English, most of the examination centres the Daily Graphic visited in the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolis, were forced to have more than one sitting for the exams.

At the Bompeh Senior High Technical School in Takoradi, the Daily Graphic observed that there were four different sittings by different group of candidates for the same paper.

The External Supervisor from the West African Examination Council (WAEC), Mr Kenneth Dotse Agomadzi explained in an interview that, though there were different sittings at the school, the credibility of the exams was not under threat as the candidates that were yet to write the paper were confined to a different location.

He said after each sitting, the invigilators would then collect the question papers from the students, and that stringent measures had been put in place to ensure that those students who had been confined did not interact with their colleagues who had already written the paper.

Reverend Brother Sylvester Quaye, the Headmaster of St. John’s School at Sekondi also indicated that the students had been adequately prepared to write their final examination, saying that, the syllabus had been completed for all the subjects.

“We also organized super mock for the final year students, to give them a feel of the exams,” he said.

Some of the school authorities pointed out that, their institutions were facing financial challenges as almost 20 per cent of the candidates owed school fees.

“We cannot sack the children from the exams hall. It is their future and life, but we entreat the parents to ensure that they settled their indebtedness to the respective schools before their children or wards write their final paper,” he said.