Mr Emmanuel Acheampong, the Ghana Education Service’s (GES) Eastern Regional Public Relations Officer, says 52,639 candidates are taking part in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in the Eastern Region this year.
There are 26,940 males and 25,699 females writing the exams in 264 centres under the supervision of exam officials and police.
A visit to the Koforidua Technical Senior High School (SecTech) by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the first day of the examination revealed that 760 candidates wrote the first two papers with no absentees recorded.
The candidates came from a total of 23 public and private schools in the New Juaben South Municipality, including Nana Kwaku Boateng A and B, Ghateco Junior High School, New Dawn International Academy, and Presby Basic School A.
Besides that, the GNA observed two SecTech centres, Centers A and B, which had no cases of pregnant candidates, examination malpractice, or health issues, according to the supervisors.
Mr Samuel Batarema, the Supervisor for Center B, said two nurses from the Ghana Health Service (GHS) were deployed to the centres to receive and address any health issues that might arise during the examination.
He said candidates usually behaved well on the first day of the examination, adding, “we hope the students will keep it up till the last day of their examination”.
He said the candidates were expected to write nine papers, beginning from Monday to Friday, however, some candidates may finish on Thursday since they did not register for the French paper which would be written on Friday.
Meanwhile, the GNA spotted Mr Mark S Mensah, the National Coordinator of the Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) who visited some Senior High Schools (SHS) where the BECE was taking place.
Mr Mensah told the GNA in an interview that he visited Ghana SHS (GHANASS), Oyoko Methodist SHS (OMESS), Pope Johns SHS and SecTech to monitor the BECE activities.
According to him, out of the four schools he visited, only SecTech did not record any absentee, however, “it was only in OMESS that two cases of pregnant candidates were recorded”.
“So far no examination malpractice has been recorded in any of the schools I have visited.”
The Basic Education Certificate Examination administered by GES gives basic school graduates both in Ghana and Nigeria the opportunity to go to the second-cycle educational level.
