BECE Begins Today

Members of Parliament have asked the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) to take all the necessary precautions to ensure the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) papers do not leak.

Final year Junior High School (JHS) students will today, Monday, June 5 begin the BECE exams.

In previous years, the leakage of BECE questions has resulted in the cancellation of papers bringing untoward hardship on students and parents.

Parents are sometimes asked to pay for the re-sit of the papers, while the candidates would have to spend long hours preparing again for the canceled papers.

The MPs said on Friday that they do not want that to happen this year.

“The perennial leakages of the WAEC examination papers are an unfortunate phenomenon which grossly undermines the integrity of the education system of Ghana,” said Assin South MP, Ntim Fodjour, said on the floor of Parliament.

WAEC says it has put in place tough measures for a leakage-free basic education certificate examination this year.

Over 400,000 candidates from over 15,000 public and private schools are expected to sit for the exam at 1,702 centres across the country.

Public relations Officer of WAEC, Agnes Teye-Cudjoe, told Joy News the week-long exams will go smoothly.

The Ghana Education Service has also appealed to the general public especially security agencies, religious bodies, civil society and the media to help secure a leakage free exam.

Meanwhile, candidates at Denkyira Obuasi and adjoining communities, where residents have fled following the lynching of a soldier, will not be affected by the recent incidents that led the closure of schools in the town.

Agnes Teye-Cudjoe explains there are no examination centres in the town.

“All the candidates [from Denkyira Oboasi] will write at Piaso [not far from Denkyira-Oboasi],” she said.