72 Denkyira-Obuasi candidates write English language
All 72 BECE candidates at Denkyira-Obuasi, reported at Diaso Senior High School (SHS) centre for English languauge, the first paper to be written in this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), which took off yesterday.
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The Central Regional Director of Education, Mr David Afram, disclosed this when a Deputy Minister of Education, Mrs Barbara Asher Ayisi, toured some examination centres in the Cape Coast Metropolis.
Mr Afram said following the disturbances at Denkyira-Obuasi, culminating in people fleeing the town, announcements were made on all local radio stations, encouraging the candidates to report at the centre at Diaso SHS.
He said the District Oversight Committee was monitoring the situation currently, and would brief the directorate.
A total of 468,053 candidates are writing the BECE.
Central Region is the third highest region, with 50,106 candidates, made up of 25,932 males and 24,172 females.
Mrs Ayisi, for her part, advised the children to be confident as they entered the hall.
She further urged them not to engage in any examination malpractices, since such acts would jeopardise their future.
From Tema in the Greater Accra Region, Benjamin Xornam Glover reports that a total of 7,183 candidates, made up of 3,663 girls and 3,520 boys registered for this year's BECE in the Tema Metropolitan Area.
The examination is taking place in 25 registered centres in the metropolis.
At the Tema Manhean Senior High Technical School Examination centre, nine schools, with 202 registered candidates, wrote the first paper of the day; English language. One female student was absent for unexplained reasons.
Two-hundred and forty-four candidates registered to write their papers at the Presbyterian SHS Examination centre also in Tema but during a tour of the centre yesterday, one candidate was absent.
The Supervisor at the centre, Mrs Dorothy Opare-Baidu, told the Daily Graphic that the candidate had travelled. She added that everything was in order and that the candidates were comporting themselves.
As part of security and first aid measures, police personnel and nurses were stationed at all the centres visited.
Invigilators at the Sakumono School Complex B Examination centre indicated that the first paper delayed for about 30 minutes because the question papers got to the centre late.
Meanwhile, the Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Felix Annang Mensa-La, had visited some examination centres in the metropolis to witness at first hand the conduct of the BECE.
The MCE was accompanied on the tour by the Metropolitan Director of Education, Mrs Margaret Frimpong Kore, the acting Executive Secretary for the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, Mrs Felicia Boakye-Yaidom, and the Metropolitan Co-ordinating Director, Mr Emmanuel Abuanor Nortey.
Daniel Kenu reports from Kumasi in the Ashanti Region that 22, 840 registered candidates, comprising 10, 988 males and 11, 852 females were taking part in this year’s BECE examinations in the 89 centres.
The figure falls short of last year’s figure which stood at 23, 176, and was made up of 11, 306 males and 11, 870 females.
The Metropolitan Director of Education, Mr Alexander Atta-Asante, accompanied by the Kumasi Metropolitan Co-ordinating Director, Mr Michael B. Ataogye, who was representing the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Osei Assibey Antwi, toured some selected centres to inspire the candidates.
Centres visited included the WESCO Demonstration Junior High School (JHS), Kumasi Wesley Girls SHS, Angel Educational Complex, Yaa Asantewaa SHS and Asanteman SHS, where the candidates were busy writing the English Language paper.
Addressing the candidates, Mr Ataogye expressed satisfaction with the level of enthusiasm and confidence shown by the candidates.
He advised them to adhere to the rules and regulations of the examination, and not to engage in any malpractices which could lead to the cancellation of their papers and jeaopardise their education.
Mr Atta-Asante cautioned the invigilators not to engage in any malpractices.
From Kumasi, Emmanuel Baah and Lilly Fremah Amankwah report that a Deputy Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Adutwum, has described this year's batch of the BECE candidates as the luckiest to be the first beneficiaries of government’s free SHS policy to be rolled out in September this year.
He said the policy which was one of the government's flagship programmes would be executed to the letter. according to him, it would create social parity and also reduce the financial burden on parents.
Dr Adutwum, who was addressing BECE candidates at the Kumasi Anglican Senior School (KASS) centre in Kumasi, as part of his tour of some of the centres in the Ashanti Region, added that apart from the free SHS, poor, brilliant female students who excelled would be offered scholarships to pursue higher education.
He said the girl-child scholarship scheme was a deliberate move by the Akufo-Addo administration to encourage and support the girls to climb the educational ladder, as well as realise their potential and serve as role models for other girls.
The deputy minister, who is also the Member of Parliament for Bosomtwe, made it clear that the government would not tolerate any leakage of examination papers, a situation which affects innocent students.
The Headmaster of KASS, Mr Alex Conduah, said he had always been impressed with the behaviour of candidates who wrote examinations at the centre, and was very optimistic that this year's group would not be an exception.
