Hope at last for 2014, 2015 and 2016 BECE candidates
Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates who completed school three years ago but were unable to enter senior high school as a result of financial challenges can now go back to school with effect from September this year.
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This follows the release of re-entry forms for BECE candidates who completed junior high school (JHS) in 2014, 2015 and 2016 to fill and submit for SHS placement this year.
The forms can be collected at all the regional and district education offices throughout the country at a fee of GH¢5 only.
The new National Coordinator of the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS), Mr Mark Sasu-Mensah, told the Junior Graphic that the opportunity had been extended to the unfortunate candidates, some of whom would have progressed to the third year in SHS or technical institutes (TIs) by now.
He expressed the hope that many JHS graduates who were not able to continue their education in the past three years could now apply to continue their education as a result of the free SHS policy.
He agreed that: “It is possible we might have a high number of candidates applying because of the new education policy.
To ensure that as many children benefit from the new policy, Mr Sasu-Mensah said, the re-entry forms were also available to candidates who wrote the Private BECE in February this year, adding that: “We want to give all of them the opportunity to have access to SHS education.”
He said the re-entry candidates would also have the opportunity of choosing four schools just as their counterparts who would be writing the BECE next month, pointing out that “this government is here to give Ghanaian children hope and a brighter future”.
The re-entry forms, the national coordinator said, when completed would have to be returned to the regional or district offices for onward transfer to the CSSPS Secretariat for the candidates to be included in the 2017 placement exercise.
He said the re-entry candidates had been given up to the end of July to take the opportunity to be considered for placement this year as they would equally have to compete for places with the current batch of 2017 candidates.
“The school that you would be placed in would depend on your performance,” he said, and advised the candidates to be careful in their selection of schools and programmes since any error in the selection process could affect their placement.
“Each school has the programmes it runs so candidates must select those that are taught in the school that they want to go to,” he cautioned.