BECE takes off smoothly in regions

The Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) took off smoothly at various centres across the country yesterday.

Officials visited selected centres to encourage candidates to be confident, and also cautioned them against examination malpractice.

Volta

From Ho, Alberto Mario Noretti reports that most of the candidates turned up at their centres as early as 7:00 am.

In all, 32,311 candidates from 1,259 schools, from both public and private schools, including 16,236 males and 16,075 females, are sitting for the BECE this year in the Volta Region.

At the Mawuli School Centre A/B, the Supervisor, Eric Afesi, said examination materials arrived at the centre in good time.

The Volta Regional Minister, James Gunu, acting Regional Director of Education, Jemima Marian Adzroe, Ho Municipal Director of Education, Dr Esther Yeboah-Adzima and Ho Municipal Chief Executive, Stephen Adom, were at the various centres early enough to wish the candidates well.

At Ho-Bankoe Central R.C. JHS Centre, all the candidates were seated 30 minutes before the start of the examination.

The supervisor, Jesbert Barnor, said there was one pregnant girl among the 318 candidates, comprising 129 boys and 189 girls.

Sunyani

Biiya Mukusah Ali reports from Sunyani that 25,000 candidates are sitting the 2026 BECE in the region.

The candidates, comprising 12,750 females and 12,250 males from 833 schools are writing the examination at 88 centres across the region.

To ensure a smooth and credible process, 88 supervisors and 882 invigilators have been deployed.

The Bono Regional Minister, Joseph Addae Akwaboa, and the Regional Director of Education, Gabriel Antwi, toured some selected examination centres.

The Education Director, Mr Antwi, said the Directorates had rolled out a rigorous surveillance operation to clamp down on examination malpractice.

Cape Coast

From Cape Coast, Joana Kumi reports that a total of 68,091 candidates are expected to sit for this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in the Central Region.

The Central Regional Director of Education, Dr Juliette Dufie Otamie, said the figure comprises 51,425 candidates from public schools and 16,666 from private schools, bringing the overall total to 68,091.

Dr Otamie disclosed that special arrangements had been made for candidates with disabilities to ensure a smooth and inclusive examination process.

According to her, 104 candidates with special needs including 46 visually impaired students, 31 with hearing impairment, 16 with learning difficulties, four with cerebral palsy, four physically challenged candidates, one with dyslexia and two with intellectual and developmental disorders would write the examination.

The Central Regional Minister, Ekow Eduamoah Okyere, toured some centres and encouraged the candidates to give their best.

Wa

From Wa, Sahada Dramani reports that a total of 14,937 candidates in the Upper West Region are currently sitting for the BECE, with 8,254 females and 6,683 males participating this year. In the Wa Municipal, a total of 3,862 candidates are sitting for the exam, comprising 1,771 females and 2,091 males.

The Upper West Regional Director of Education, Alice Ellen Abeere-Ingal, together with the Regional Minister, Charles Lwanga Puozuing, toured several examination centres to monitor the process and ensure everything runs smoothly.

Tamale

From Tamale, Mohammed Fugu reports that the BECE took off smoothly across all 132 centres in the Northern Region, with a total of 37,111 candidates from 808 schools sitting.

Out of the total, 33,329 candidates are from public schools, comprising 17,209 males and 16,120 females, while 3,782 candidates are from private schools, made up of 1,817 males and 1,965 females.

To ensure the smooth conduct of the examination, 132 supervisors, 130 assistant supervisors and 1,321 invigilators have been deployed for the exercise.

The Northern Regional Minister, Mr Ali Adolf John, led a team of officials from the GES and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to monitor the exercise in selected centres on Monday morning.

The team visited centres including Vittin Senior High School, Ghana Senior High School and Tamale Senior High School.

For his part, the Northern Regional Director of GES, Mr Alhassan Alidu Junior, said adequate measures had been put in place to ensure a smooth and credible examination process.

Kumasi

Gilbert Mawuli Agbey reports from Kumasi that the Ashanti Region recorded the highest number of candidates nationwide, with 124,095 school pupils drawn from public and private basic schools taking part in the examination.

More specifically, in the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, 10,016 candidates are taking part in the examination, comprising 5,230 girls and 4,786 boys at 35 examination centres. Also, the candidates comprise 6807 pupils from public schools and 3,209 pupils from private basic schools.

A pregnant girl took part in the examination at the Serwaa Nyarko Girls SHS centre.

The Kumasi Metropolitan Director at the Ghana Education Service, David Oppong, led a team of officers who toured some examination centres within the Kumasi metropolis. They visited centres such as T.I. Ahmadiyya SHS, T.I. Ahmadiyya JHS, Serwaa Nyarko SHS, Buokrom M/A JHS, New Tafo M/A JHS, among others.

Accra

The examination begun yesterday with English Language at about 9:00a.m., despite early morning showers at some centres in Accra, reports Emmanuel Bonney.  

At two centres at the Kanda Cluster of Schools – Ring Road East 1 Basic School and Kanda Estate 3&5 Basic School, 411 candidates from 12 schools were writing the exams at the time it was raining.

The Ring Road East 1 Basic School had seven schools, comprising 250 candidates. It recorded one absentee.

On the other hand, the Kanda 3&5 Estate Basic School, which also recorded one female absentee, had 161 candidates - 81 boys and 80 girls from five schools.

The supervisor at the centre, Tamimu Ibrahim Aliyu, said there were no challenges as at the time of the visit.

Other centres visited included the Nima Cluster of Schools, St Paul Lutheran School and the Flagstaff House Basic School.

The Ayawaso Municipal Director of Education, Dr William Tsekpo, who visited the Kanda centre, said a total of 1,176 candidates – 556 boys and 619 girls, turned up at the centre. 

At the Nii Amugi Compound Centre, all 181 candidates reported for the examination.

Some of the candidates told the Daily Graphic that the English Language paper was manageable.