Accra, June 22, GNA - The Private Universities Students Association of Ghana (PUSAG) has said any official of the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) found liable over the leakage of this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) questions must be punished.
The Association said the leakage threatened to undermine the credibility of the nation’s educational system.
Showing posts with label JHS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label JHS. Show all posts
Monday, June 22, 2015
Churches urged to establish more schools
Lume-Atsyame (V/R), June 16, GNA - Most Reverend Francis A.K. Lodonu, Catholic Bishop of Ho, has called on churches to consider establishing more schools in their domain.
He said by doing so, they would be contributing to the transformation of the people.
Bishop Lodonu said this when he inaugurated a nursery and kindergarten block for Lume-Atsyame Roman Catholic Basic School.
The 209,000-Ghana-Cedi facility was sponsored by Kindermissionswerk, an organisation based in Germany.
Bishop Lodonu said it was not enough for churches to concentrate solely on the creation of new branches, but it was important to ensure that the educational needs of the people were met.
He said early churches like the Evangelical Presbyterian and Roman Catholic, knowing the importance of education, established schools for many communities and towns in the Volta Region, adding that this effort must be a sustained.
Bishop Lodonu said, the Ho Diocese of the Catholic Church, for example, has 98 kindergartens, 96 primary schools and 43 junior high schools.
He said such investments could save the country from “religious and moral bankruptcy”.
Source: GNA
He said by doing so, they would be contributing to the transformation of the people.
Bishop Lodonu said this when he inaugurated a nursery and kindergarten block for Lume-Atsyame Roman Catholic Basic School.
The 209,000-Ghana-Cedi facility was sponsored by Kindermissionswerk, an organisation based in Germany.
Bishop Lodonu said it was not enough for churches to concentrate solely on the creation of new branches, but it was important to ensure that the educational needs of the people were met.
He said early churches like the Evangelical Presbyterian and Roman Catholic, knowing the importance of education, established schools for many communities and towns in the Volta Region, adding that this effort must be a sustained.
Bishop Lodonu said, the Ho Diocese of the Catholic Church, for example, has 98 kindergartens, 96 primary schools and 43 junior high schools.
He said such investments could save the country from “religious and moral bankruptcy”.
Source: GNA
GES recommends counselling for BECE candidates
Accra, June 19, GNA - Mr Jacob A.M. Kor, the Acting Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), has directed Heads of Basic Schools to organise counselling sessions for candidates in the ongoing Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
In a statement confirming the cancellation of five papers of the BECE due to the mass leakage of the questions, Mr Kor said the counselling was necessary as some of the candidates may suffer psychological effects due to the cancellation.
He stressed that: “The move would ensure that their confidence does not wane as they continue to write other papers.”
Mr Kor also tasked teachers to ensure that the new dates for re-writing of the cancelled papers - 29th and 30th June - were well communicated to the students and parents in order to avoid any absenteeism.
He also entreated teachers to educate parents on the need to support their children to take away any fears they might be harbouring.
“GES takes the opportunity to apologise to all parents, guardians and candidates for the unfortunate incidence and the inconvenience caused,” he concluded.
The West Africa Examination Council (WAEC), on Wednesday, announced the cancellation of five papers in the ongoing BECE, citing massive leakage of examination papers.
The affected papers are English Paper Two, Mathematics Paper Two, Integrated Science, Religious and Moral Education (RME) Paper Two and Social Studies.
In a statement confirming the cancellation of five papers of the BECE due to the mass leakage of the questions, Mr Kor said the counselling was necessary as some of the candidates may suffer psychological effects due to the cancellation.
He stressed that: “The move would ensure that their confidence does not wane as they continue to write other papers.”
Mr Kor also tasked teachers to ensure that the new dates for re-writing of the cancelled papers - 29th and 30th June - were well communicated to the students and parents in order to avoid any absenteeism.
He also entreated teachers to educate parents on the need to support their children to take away any fears they might be harbouring.
“GES takes the opportunity to apologise to all parents, guardians and candidates for the unfortunate incidence and the inconvenience caused,” he concluded.
The West Africa Examination Council (WAEC), on Wednesday, announced the cancellation of five papers in the ongoing BECE, citing massive leakage of examination papers.
The affected papers are English Paper Two, Mathematics Paper Two, Integrated Science, Religious and Moral Education (RME) Paper Two and Social Studies.
Source: GNA
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Intense competition cause of BECE leakage – Prof Dominic Fobih
Former Education Minister Prof Dominic Fobih has attributed the leakage of the Basic education Certificate Examination papers to intense competition between schools to outperform each other.
According to him, because most schools don’t want to score zeros or low marks during the BECE examination, they do anything to ensure that their students pass.
This encourages the leakage of the papers.
Prof Fobih’s comment follows the leakage and subsequent cancellation of five subjects in the ongoing BECE supervised and conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC).
A statement confirming the cancelation was released by the examination administration body Wednesday.
Signed by Mrs. Agnes Teye-Cudjoe, Deputy Director of Public Affairs, the statement listed the following papers are having been "compromised".
Prof. Dominic Fobih was Minister of Education in the erstwhile Kufuor administration.
Speaking on Adom FM’s morning show ‘Dwaso Nsem” Thursday, Fobih believes there is no way students should be blamed for the leakage adding that it was simply a leadership problem.
But he did not spare the teachers and education authorities of blame.
Prof Fobih fears that this form of corruption, if not dealt with immediately will affect the integrity and moral judgment of the students in the long term.
He called on government and the stakeholders in the education sector to, as a matter of urgency, modify the
objectives of the BECE.
The former Member of Parliament for Assin South Constituency said pupils do not have to qualify to go to SHS.
He said it is important to make SHS the mandatory terminal point, instead of using the BECE to terminate some pupils’ education.
Former Education Minister Dominic Fobih is calling for the complete restructuring of the BECE because “it lacks depth”.
According to the Professor, BECE should be an exam that seeks to identify the strengths of pupils and place them in their various preferred programmes like business, science, visual and arts at the Senior High
School (SHS) level.
In his view,” it is necessary to change the focus of the BECE” from its current selective system to a placement system which will be more beneficial to the student.
There is no need to sift through the candidates and take the supposed brilliant ones to SHS, every student’s strength in a particular subject or programme should be the standpoint for SHS education.
Source: Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Naa Sakwaba
Akwa
BECE leakage: NAGRAT calls for immediate resignation of WAEC boss
The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) has asked for the head of the Ghana Office of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) Sam Ollennu to step down.
This follows the massive leakage and cancellations of five papers in the ongoing Basic Education Certificate
Examination (BECE).
The Association also wants the dissolution of the WAEC Board.
Joy News’ Michaela Anderson was at a news conference and reports that NAGRAT is blaming WAEC for the leakage.
The group said it was necessary for the Rev Ollennu to step aside because his continuous presence as the Council’s head will influence the investigation process.
Vice President of NAGRAT, Angel Kabonu said “the results that students churn out is a reflection of our competence or otherwise and if people are adamant to our call…because our call does not stem from only what has happened this year, we have series of historical developments that we will present to the table, if that is not done we will have to reconsider our relationship with that examination body.
“Don’t forget the questions are from us, the assessment and marking of the examination is from us, we invigilate the examination and without us the examination cannot go on”, he added.
He indicated that examination body should be blamed for the leakage and no one else.
“When papers leak and the questions are on the internet, whatsApp and students could email them, then we will have to ask ourselves the question ‘where is it coming from’, definitely it is coming from WAEC”.
Angel Kabonu says students should not be made to pay for the incompetence of the Council.
Founder of Ashesi University, Patrick Awuah agrees with NAGRAT.
He is angry about how this canker continues to fester adding that the first step in dealing with cheating during examinations is for leadership of WAEC to be dismissed.
“We need to get beyond announcing the leakage and cancelling papers and really get into a process of house cleaning at WAEC, they really need to clean their house because clearly, individuals within that organisation are causing these leakages”.
These individuals according to him, need to be identified and sanctioned and “if we are unable to find these individuals who are doing this, I would say they need to look at the leadership of WAEC because at the end of the day the buck has to stop somewhere”.
Patrick Awuah said the leakages are occurring as a result of a weak leadership at WAEC and “that leadership must be changed”.
He added that the situation will not change unless tough measures and decisions are taken.
Source: Myjoyonline.com | Naa Sakwaba Akwa
School heads found culpable in BECE leakage will be sanctioned – GES
The Acting Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Jacob Kor says there will be tough sanctions for teachers and headteachers who may be found culpable in the leakage of examination papers and other examination malpractices.
Speaking to journalists in the Volta Regional capital, Ho on the sidelines of a meeting with District Directors,
he indicated that teachers and headteachers who assist students during examinations cannot be left
unpunished.
He said a teacher in the Eastern region has already been sanctioned for helping a student to cheat in an examination.
The said teacher, according to him will face the regional disciplinary committee of the GES and as soon
as investigations are concluded, the appropriate action will be taken.
Jacob Kor said those who indulge in this act must be punished, adding that “let’s teach our generation the right thing, the truth nothing but the truth.
“If we encourage them to engage in examination malpractices, they will end up killing us the hospitals as quack doctors because they have not learnt enough”, he added.
The West African Examination Council (WAEC) Wednesday June 17, cancelled five papers in the ongoing Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) after a massive leakage was noticed.
A statement confirming the cancelation was released by the examination body Wednesday.
Signed by Mrs. Agnes Teye-Cudjoe, Deputy Director of Public Affairs, the statement listed the following papers as having been "compromised".
Meanwhile, some of the candidates say they are struggling to come to terms with the news that five papers they have written have been cancelled.
Some of them who spoke to Joy News’ Hannah Odame today at their examination centers say this will affect their preparation for the last two papers.
“I feel so bad. I couldn’t eat last night, some of my friends have fainted and are on admission at the hospital currently”, one student told Hannah when she was asked how she felt about the cancellation.
Some of the students who had gone to their various examination centres to write the French paper scheduled for this morning said they had no idea the papers had been cancelled.
Others pleaded with the Council to allow them write their papers because they had no hand in the leakage neither did they have any idea about it.
Source: Myjoyonline.com | Naa Sakwaba Akwa
WAEC: We accept responsibility for paper leakage
The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has accepted responsibility for the leakage of some of the BECE examination papers.
WAEC cancelled 5 papers in the ongoing Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) after they realized the questions have been leaked and was circulating on various social media platforms especially Whatsapp.
Agnes Tei Cudjoe, Head of Public Relations at WAEC told Kwami Sefa Kayi on Thursday’s edition of ‘Kokrokoo’, that as a government body in charge of exams, “we take ultimate responsibility” for the leakage and we are conducting investigations to find out where the leakage came from.
She said even though the re-take of the cancelled papers is going to be difficult for the students, “we appeal to teachers and parents to support them to prepare for the papers. We pledge to ensure that it doesn’t happen again”.
Source: peacefmonline.com
BECE leakage: I paid ₵200 - Parent confesses
Following a massive leakage of BECE questions, a parent has told Joy News he paid ₵200 to authorities in the school where his ward is a student.
A parent, Yaw Owusu, in the Ashanti Region was told it was for the BECE exams.
Yaw Owusu also explained that some invigilators emptied the pockets of all the monies belonging to the students in the examination room before exams began.
According to him, the teachers and invigilators claim the money was to help them in the BECE.
A nationwide probe is already underway as WAEC comes under fire for failing to stop the leakage.
Ghana Education Campaign Coalition's Bright Appiah believes “the whole system is responsible for this” and that every step of the process of examination administration can be faulted.
"It is unfortunate that we have to go through this again", he told Joy News Wednesday.
The West African Examination Council on Wednesday, cancelled five papers and postponed the writing of two papers following widespread leakage in the ongoing Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
A statement confirming the cancelation was released by the examination administration body.
The leakage was displayed on social media Wednesday.
It has left parents, candidates and the education ministry fuming after what has been called one of the most embarrassing examination leakages in the history of the West African Examination Council.
Source: myjoyonline.com
BECE candidates blame WAEC for leakage
Some distraught candidates in the ongoing Basic Education Certificate Examination have blamed the West African Examination Council (WAEC) for the leakage of some of the examination papers.
According to them, they believe there was a breach in the security of the examination organisers, hence the leakage.
WAEC on Wednesday cancelled five papers, including Social Studies, which was to be taken on Thursday following leakage of the papers.
But some of the candidates are angry over the decision and argued that WAEC should have allowed the examination to continue while they investigate the schools and those found culpable, punished.
One of the candidates who spoke to Citi News said “ I think WAEC has a big role to play in this action. It was a bad action and the decision they took, it was not everyone who got the questions so they should have gone through and investigate the schools who got the questions and cancel their papers or penalise them for
that.”
Another candidate alleged, “It was the people guarding the papers that deceived them and took photos of the questions and shared them on social media. Their security was not that tight and the person who took the photograph of the question was from WAEC.”
“They set the question and it must not get out of their offices unless it was time so it’s their fault because the security must be tight. How do you set the paper and allow it to leak?” another candidate asked.
WAEC to be sued
Meanwhile a parent of one of the candidates in the Brong Ahafo region, has threatened t o sue WAEC for the cancellation.
The parent, Johnson Owusu Tawiah argued that reasons for the cancellation were not enough, hence his resolve.
He has thus given WAEC a 24-hour ultimatum to give reasonable explanation or face him in court.
WAEC under investigation
The Ministry of Education has further directed the country’s security agencies to investigate circumstances leading to the leakage and subsequent cancellation of some Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) papers.
A Deputy Minister of Education in charge of pre-tertiary education, Alex Kyeremeh said the news of the cancellation came as a surprise to the Ministry, hence the decision to seek an intervention from the security agencies.
Source: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com
Parent to sue WAEC over cancelled BECE papers
A parent of one of the candidates writing the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) has threatened to drag the West African Examination Council (WAEC) to court for the cancellation of some papers.
The parent, Owusu Tawiah Johnson who resides in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region said his son did not benefit from the said leaked exam papers and is therefore demanding an explanation from WAEC within 24 hours or else he will head to the court.
Five papers have been cancelled by WAEC in the ongoing BECE following a leakage of the questions.
The subjects are English Language 2, Religious and Moral Education 2, Science 2, and Mathematics 2 and Social Studies 2.
The Social Studies paper scheduled to be written on Thursday will not take place.
The Examination Council explained that it cancelled the papers to protect the integrity of the examination after questions from the cancelled papers had gone viral on social media after it was leaked by some unknown persons.
The cancelled papers will however be written on June, 29 and 30, 2015.
In an interview on Eyewitness News, Mr. Johnson said his son is distraught and so he is unsure if he will be in the right frame of mind to write the remaining papers.
“I don’t understand why they should do that and I want to ask WAEC; have they thought of the psychological problems that will come on the children? As it is now, I don’t even know whether my ward can write the examination which is yet to come because he is really down,” he disclosed.
He said it is important for him to sue WAEC because they must be forced to take full responsibility for the leakage.
“I have to go to court because if you say there was an examination leakage, who caused that? It is your fault which means that somebody at WAEC must be blamed and not the candidate.”
An angry Mr. Johnson added that, “in Ghana, the candidates are always blamed. Why? Anytime there is a problem, it is the candidate that suffers…if WAEC doesn’t come out and give us a very vivid explanation as to what they are doing, in 24 hours, I will go to the court and then show them.”
Source: Efua Idan Osam/ citifmonline.com
National Security to investigate leakage of BECE papers
The National Security has been tasked to conduct thorough investigations into the leakage of the 2015 Basic Education Certificate Examination question papers.
Deputy Education Minister, Alex Kyeremeh, said the investigation will be independent of what the West African Examination Council has begun doing.
Five papers including Mathematics 2, religious and moral education, English Language 2, and Science 2 have all been cancelled.
Social Studies will also not be taken tomorrow, whilst French and ICT will be written as scheduled.
The widespread leakage has left the country shocked as WAEC struggles to explain the circumstances under which the leakage occurred.
WAEC says it will not shield anybody found culpable for the scandal.
The Head of WAEC, Very Rev. Samuel Nii Nmai Ollennu told Joy News' Kwetey Nartey an investigation has begun to unravel how the papers were leaked.
But even before WAEC concludes its investigation, the Education Ministry has ordered a parallel investigation to be undertaken by national security.
Deputy Education Minister in charge of Basic Education Alex Kyeremeh said the ministry has given WAEC all the resources it needs and wondered why such a leakage would occur.
This is not the first time examination papers have been leaked in recent times.
Last year, a police officer at Atiwa, Lance Corporal Prince Opoku was indicted for breaking a seal on WAEC examination papers, taking photographs of the examination questions with his phone and subsequently leaking them to students.
He was allegedly contracted by a school proprietor to leak the papers and was paid 4,000 cedis for his work, the police report said.
One year on, the docket is yet to be sent to the Attorney General's department for prosecution.
Rev Ollenu had, prior to the 2015 leakage raised concerns about the failure of the police to prosecute the officer.
He is disappointed with the latest leakage, promising the Council will get to the bottom of the matter.
Source: myjoyonline.com
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Ghana's Maths and Science ranking based on 2011 data
Accra, June 17, GNA – The Global Educational ranking that placed Ghana at the bottom of 76 nations in Science and Mathematics, was based on a 2011 Data, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, Education Minister said on Tuesday.
The ranking was done by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).
Speaking at the Meet the Press series in Accra, Prof Opoku-Agyemang said although Ghana did not take part in PISA, its data from the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) was re-scaled onto the PISA scale.
This, she said, raised a number of concerns, which were tabled for discussion and analysis at the World Education Forum 2015 held at Incheon, Korea.
Prof Opoku-Agyemang, who was speaking on the State of Education in Ghana, said the report sought to highlight a global problem of the low scores of students in Mathematics and Science, especially in the low income countries.
She said the strategy adopted by the authors, appeared to be selective to enable them to achieve their aim of linking the country’s economic status with that of the performance in Mathematics and Science.
The Minister said the strategy further raised a lot of questions because it failed to recognize that Ghana’s scores in TIMSS since 2003 had improved over the years.
She said the argument was that the quality of schooling in a country was a powerful indicator of the wealth that those countries would produce in the long run.
The Minister noted that the report was intended to influence debate over development goals, and to facilitate the adoption of target that ensured that all 15 year olds achieved basic level of skills.
She said the report received mixed reactions from the Forum.
“While some thought it was meant for rich countries, that it was contextually inappropriate for poor countries and that it gives an incomplete picture of what education is; others thought it made the important point that access alone will not guarantee a country’s prosperity and that of the world,” Prof Opoku-Agyemang stated.
“Its conclusions were therefore enough to propel the world into action as some rich OECD and non-OECD countries also fell significantly below PISA score points in Mathematics and Science,” she added.
Other countries in the lowest ranks together with Ghana were Oman, Morocco, Honduras, and South Africa which were ranked 72, 73, 74 and 75 respectively.
She said for Ghana, the report emphasized the challenges Government had already identified as far as students learning outcomes in Mathematics and Science were concerned.
In that regard, she observed that governments over the years had introduced interventions to address the challenge, which she said, included the rigorous re-training of teachers in Science and Mathematics, including plans to establish centres for the training of Science and Mathematics teachers in basic schools.
Others are the rehabilitation of existing science resource centres, to train teachers at both the basic and secondary levels of education, basic school computerization programme, leading to the supply of computers and accessories to schools and teachers.
Source: GNA
WAEC cancels 5 BECE papers
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) says it has cancelled 5 papers in the ongoing Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) after discovering to its dismay the papers have been compromised.
The papers involved are:
English Language 2,
Religious and Moral Education 2;
Integrated Science 2;
Mathematics 2;
Social Studies 2
The June 2015 BECE started only on Monday, June 15 and were expected to be completed on Friday, June 19.
As many as 438,030 candidates were registered to write the examinations in 1,446 centres across the country.
WAEC said investigations were underway to unearth the full facts of the malpractice and assured it is determined to follow the case to its logical conclusion and will not shield any person, including its own, who will be found culpable.
A statement issued by WAEC Wednesday confirming the cancellation said the compromised papers will be re-administered on 29th and 30th June, 2015 and a time table for the tests would be circulated shortly.
“In addition to other sources, the papers have gone viral on social media especially WhatsApp Messenger ,” the statement, signed by Deputy Director of Public Affairs, Mrs Agnes Teye-Cudjoe, said.
“In pursuance of its quest to demonstrate its abhorrence for examination malpractice of any sort, safeguard the sanctity of its examinations and integrity of certificates issued, the Council has CANCELLED the listed papers.
“As such, Social Studies 2 & 1 tests
slated for tomorrow, 18th June, 2015 will not be administered. However, the remaining papers, that is, French and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will be taken as scheduled.”
“The Council regrets any inconvenience caused stakeholders and, in particular, candidates who did not involve themselves in the malpractice.
It further calls on stakeholders to appreciate that the re-administration of the tests is in the interest of the candidates and to restore public confidence and credibility in the outcome of the examination.
Candidates and stakeholders are hereby assured the all the necessary measures are being put in place to forestall the recurrence of the malpractice.”
Source: Isaac Yeboah, Graphic.com.gh
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Invigilators to boycott BECE over unpaid transport fares
Some invigilators and supervisors of the on-going Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in Ashanti Region are threatening to boycott the exercise.
According to them, the Ghana Education Service (GES) owes them transportation fares from last year and until that is settled, they will withdraw their services as invigilators.
The Ashanti Region has the highest number of candidates for the week long examination.
A total of, 87,815 made up of 45,197 boys and 42,618 girls.
The supervisor of the invigilators, Owusu Sakyi told Citi News, the money owed them from last year is just GHC 50 but after taxes, their take home is GHC 33
He stated that the invigilators say they will invigilate until 3pm on Wednesday and if “the government does not release the money, they will go back to their classrooms and teach on Thursday and Friday.”
Mr. Sakyi pointed out that the teachers are aggrieved because they commute from their various stations to the examination centers therefore, it is important that their transportation fares are paid.
Meanwhile following reported cases of female student absenteeism in the examination, the Education Ministry is promising to investigate the matter.
Deputy Education Minister in charge of Pre-Tertiary Education, Alex Kyeremeh told Citi News, such developments affect government’s quest to bridge the gender parity gap, hence, their resolve to investigate and bring an end to such happenings.
“If you look at the general statistics for this year, we are bridging the gender parity gap and those absent, I don’t think it’s so much but we’ve also asked the supervisors at the various centres to do their own investigations since headteachers were not there for further interrogation,” he said.
According to them, the Ghana Education Service (GES) owes them transportation fares from last year and until that is settled, they will withdraw their services as invigilators.
The Ashanti Region has the highest number of candidates for the week long examination.
A total of, 87,815 made up of 45,197 boys and 42,618 girls.
The supervisor of the invigilators, Owusu Sakyi told Citi News, the money owed them from last year is just GHC 50 but after taxes, their take home is GHC 33
He stated that the invigilators say they will invigilate until 3pm on Wednesday and if “the government does not release the money, they will go back to their classrooms and teach on Thursday and Friday.”
Mr. Sakyi pointed out that the teachers are aggrieved because they commute from their various stations to the examination centers therefore, it is important that their transportation fares are paid.
Meanwhile following reported cases of female student absenteeism in the examination, the Education Ministry is promising to investigate the matter.
Deputy Education Minister in charge of Pre-Tertiary Education, Alex Kyeremeh told Citi News, such developments affect government’s quest to bridge the gender parity gap, hence, their resolve to investigate and bring an end to such happenings.
“If you look at the general statistics for this year, we are bridging the gender parity gap and those absent, I don’t think it’s so much but we’ve also asked the supervisors at the various centres to do their own investigations since headteachers were not there for further interrogation,” he said.
Source: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Candidates Abandon BECE For ‘Galamsey’
Four male candidates writing this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) at the Mensonso D/A Basic School Centre in the Adansi-South District of the Ashanti Region, have abandoned the exams to engage in illegal mining (Galamsey).
This came to light when the Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr. Peter Anarfi Mensah, paid a working visit to the area, on Monday, as part of his tour of some centres to inspect how the exams was being conducted. The candidates, who had absented themselves for the Religious and Moral Education (RME) and English papers were said to be at the mining site when the Minister visited the centre.
The Ghana News Agency (GNA) gathered that in all, 253 candidates were supposed to have written the exams at the centre. Mr. David Amore Atura, the Supervisor at the Centre, said apart from the four candidates, one female candidate also absented herself because she was pregnant.
The Minister, who appeared worried, urged the School Management Committees of the affected candidates to take pragmatic measures to ensure that the candidates take the rest of the papers in due course of the exams.
In all, six centres have been officially designated as venues for the exams in the District.
Source: GNA
This came to light when the Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr. Peter Anarfi Mensah, paid a working visit to the area, on Monday, as part of his tour of some centres to inspect how the exams was being conducted. The candidates, who had absented themselves for the Religious and Moral Education (RME) and English papers were said to be at the mining site when the Minister visited the centre.
The Ghana News Agency (GNA) gathered that in all, 253 candidates were supposed to have written the exams at the centre. Mr. David Amore Atura, the Supervisor at the Centre, said apart from the four candidates, one female candidate also absented herself because she was pregnant.
The Minister, who appeared worried, urged the School Management Committees of the affected candidates to take pragmatic measures to ensure that the candidates take the rest of the papers in due course of the exams.
In all, six centres have been officially designated as venues for the exams in the District.
Source: GNA
Late arrival of materials delays BECE in Cape Coast
Cape Coast, June 16, GNA – The late arrival of examination materials delayed the start of the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) in almost all the centres in the Cape Coast Metropolis on Monday, according to Ghana News Agency (GNA) checks.
Some of the examination centres were St. Augustine’s College, Adisadel College, Mfantsipim School and Holy Child School.
The English Language paper, which was the first of the week-long examinations, was supposed to start at 0900hrs prompt, but due to the delay, it started as late as 40 minutes after 0900hrs at some of the afore-mentioned centres.
According to sources at the examination centres and the Cape Coast Metropolitan Directorate of Education, the delay was as a result of inadequate vehicles to convey the examination papers to the seven centres in the Metropolis.
At a point, the Mfantsipim School had to release its pick-pp vehicle to support the distribution of the examination papers.
A source at the Metro Education Directorate revealed that many of the vehicles were broken down.
When the GNA arrived at the St. Augustine’s College Centre at 0930hrs, candidates were already seated waiting for the arrival of the papers.
The Centre Supervisor, Mr. Henry Arthur-Gyan, told the GNA that a total of 357 candidates, made up of 195 males and 162 females with no recorded absentees, were ready to write the papers at that centre.
At Adisadel College, which had a total of 587 candidates, made up of 325 males and 262 females, Mr. John Kofi Sam, Centre Supervisor, said the English Language paper was delayed for about 20 minutes.
The situation was not different at the Mfantsipim School centre as the paper, started 41 minutes late, according to Mr. Hiob Howusu, the Assistant Centre Supervisor.
He indicated that out of a total of 615 candidates, made up of 263 males and 352 females, expected to write at the centre, one male and one female from the Jacob Wilson Sey Basic School, were absent. They reportedly stopped schooling shortly before the BECE.
The examination was delayed for 40 minutes at the Holy Child School, where 442 candidates, were expected to sit for the paper.
Also writing the paper at the centre were 30 hearing-impaired candidates, made 15 males and 15 females from the Cape Coast School for the Deaf.
Mr. Alex Mensah, Centre Supervisor told the GNA that eight candidates were absent, with one reportedly pregnant, while the others dropped out of school before the examinations.
At the time of filing this report, efforts to reach the Metropolitan Director of Education, Ms. Florence Nkum, to explain the delay was not successful.
In all 3,211 candidates, comprising 1,603 males and 1,608 females from 94 schools in the Metropolis, are writing the papers at seven examination centres.
At the regional level, a total of 45,587 candidates, made up 23,911 males and 21,676 females, from 1,622 schools, are writing the papers at 134 examination centres.
Source: GNA
Some of the examination centres were St. Augustine’s College, Adisadel College, Mfantsipim School and Holy Child School.
The English Language paper, which was the first of the week-long examinations, was supposed to start at 0900hrs prompt, but due to the delay, it started as late as 40 minutes after 0900hrs at some of the afore-mentioned centres.
According to sources at the examination centres and the Cape Coast Metropolitan Directorate of Education, the delay was as a result of inadequate vehicles to convey the examination papers to the seven centres in the Metropolis.
At a point, the Mfantsipim School had to release its pick-pp vehicle to support the distribution of the examination papers.
A source at the Metro Education Directorate revealed that many of the vehicles were broken down.
When the GNA arrived at the St. Augustine’s College Centre at 0930hrs, candidates were already seated waiting for the arrival of the papers.
The Centre Supervisor, Mr. Henry Arthur-Gyan, told the GNA that a total of 357 candidates, made up of 195 males and 162 females with no recorded absentees, were ready to write the papers at that centre.
At Adisadel College, which had a total of 587 candidates, made up of 325 males and 262 females, Mr. John Kofi Sam, Centre Supervisor, said the English Language paper was delayed for about 20 minutes.
The situation was not different at the Mfantsipim School centre as the paper, started 41 minutes late, according to Mr. Hiob Howusu, the Assistant Centre Supervisor.
He indicated that out of a total of 615 candidates, made up of 263 males and 352 females, expected to write at the centre, one male and one female from the Jacob Wilson Sey Basic School, were absent. They reportedly stopped schooling shortly before the BECE.
The examination was delayed for 40 minutes at the Holy Child School, where 442 candidates, were expected to sit for the paper.
Also writing the paper at the centre were 30 hearing-impaired candidates, made 15 males and 15 females from the Cape Coast School for the Deaf.
Mr. Alex Mensah, Centre Supervisor told the GNA that eight candidates were absent, with one reportedly pregnant, while the others dropped out of school before the examinations.
At the time of filing this report, efforts to reach the Metropolitan Director of Education, Ms. Florence Nkum, to explain the delay was not successful.
In all 3,211 candidates, comprising 1,603 males and 1,608 females from 94 schools in the Metropolis, are writing the papers at seven examination centres.
At the regional level, a total of 45,587 candidates, made up 23,911 males and 21,676 females, from 1,622 schools, are writing the papers at 134 examination centres.
Source: GNA
Don’t Rely On Apor – BECE Candidates Warned
The Brong-Ahafo Regional Director of Education, Kwadwo Osei Assibey, has admonished candidates writing this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) to refrain from examination malpractices.
Addressing candidates at various examination centres in the region during a tour on Monday, Mr Osei Assibey urged the candidates to be courageous and not panic since the exams is like the normal school examination they write.
However, he warned them not to resort to cheating because the law will deal drastically with anyone found indulging in examination malpractices.
Speaking to DAILY GUIDE, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana Education Service (GES) in the Brong-Ahafo Region, Augustine Kusi, said the atmosphere was serene in all the centres visited by the regional directorate of education.
According to him, they have so far not recorded cases of mature students or pregnant female candidates writing the examination, indicating that there was minimal absenteeism in all the centres they visited.
41,026 candidates, made up of 22,278 males and 18,781 females, are writing the 2015 BECE examination in 155 centres in the Brong-Ahafo Region.
The examination which started yesterday will end on Friday, June 19. In all, 438,030 candidates, made up of 229,724 males and 208,306 females, are expected to write the examination in 1,546 centres across the country.
Source: Daily Guide
Addressing candidates at various examination centres in the region during a tour on Monday, Mr Osei Assibey urged the candidates to be courageous and not panic since the exams is like the normal school examination they write.
However, he warned them not to resort to cheating because the law will deal drastically with anyone found indulging in examination malpractices.
Speaking to DAILY GUIDE, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana Education Service (GES) in the Brong-Ahafo Region, Augustine Kusi, said the atmosphere was serene in all the centres visited by the regional directorate of education.
According to him, they have so far not recorded cases of mature students or pregnant female candidates writing the examination, indicating that there was minimal absenteeism in all the centres they visited.
41,026 candidates, made up of 22,278 males and 18,781 females, are writing the 2015 BECE examination in 155 centres in the Brong-Ahafo Region.
The examination which started yesterday will end on Friday, June 19. In all, 438,030 candidates, made up of 229,724 males and 208,306 females, are expected to write the examination in 1,546 centres across the country.
Source: Daily Guide
Headmaster of Wurapong M/A Junior High School Attends School Twice A Week
Teachers At Wurapong M/A Junior High School in the Yilo Krobo district of the Eastern Region have fled the community due to incessant attacks on them by armed robbers.
The situation is affecting academic work in the school since the teachers took the decision last week. Four teachers, including the headmaster of the school, have been robbed once or had their rooms ransacked by unknown persons in the community.
This has compelled some of the teachers and the headmaster of the school to vacate the community for safety reasons.
“Last week for instance, I attended school twice, just like my other colleagues, we go to school as and when we get the means,” headmaster of the school, Frank Narh Abublah revealed in an interview with the Daily Heritage.
The latest attack happened last week when the headmaster of the school, Frank Narh Abublah, escaped attack by some suspected armed robbers.
According to the headmaster, the criminals broke into his room at night and ransacked the room, took away one out of two laptops and GHC700.00. He said, fortunately for him, he was out of town on that fateful day.
The headmaster further explained that the assistant headmistress and two other teachers have also suffered similar attacks in which valuable items were stolen.
He said, this has put fear in the teachers in the community, leading to some of them deserting their posts to avert any misfortune.
He added that, four out of five teachers have been compelled to live with their families in Koforidua, Nkurakan and Agogo and only attend school when they have the transportation means.
The headmaster stated that the robbery cases have been reported to the police, but no arrests have been made yet.
He said the school's management committee has been informed about their decision not to live in the community again until the perpetrators are brought to book.
The assembly member for the area, Hon. Opeley assured that the community is making frantic efforts to arrest the perpetrators.
According to him, announcements have been made throughout the village through the 'gong gong beater' to the effect that residents in the community must help apprehend the suspects.
Source: Daily Heritage
The situation is affecting academic work in the school since the teachers took the decision last week. Four teachers, including the headmaster of the school, have been robbed once or had their rooms ransacked by unknown persons in the community.
This has compelled some of the teachers and the headmaster of the school to vacate the community for safety reasons.
“Last week for instance, I attended school twice, just like my other colleagues, we go to school as and when we get the means,” headmaster of the school, Frank Narh Abublah revealed in an interview with the Daily Heritage.
The latest attack happened last week when the headmaster of the school, Frank Narh Abublah, escaped attack by some suspected armed robbers.
According to the headmaster, the criminals broke into his room at night and ransacked the room, took away one out of two laptops and GHC700.00. He said, fortunately for him, he was out of town on that fateful day.
The headmaster further explained that the assistant headmistress and two other teachers have also suffered similar attacks in which valuable items were stolen.
He said, this has put fear in the teachers in the community, leading to some of them deserting their posts to avert any misfortune.
He added that, four out of five teachers have been compelled to live with their families in Koforidua, Nkurakan and Agogo and only attend school when they have the transportation means.
The headmaster stated that the robbery cases have been reported to the police, but no arrests have been made yet.
He said the school's management committee has been informed about their decision not to live in the community again until the perpetrators are brought to book.
The assembly member for the area, Hon. Opeley assured that the community is making frantic efforts to arrest the perpetrators.
According to him, announcements have been made throughout the village through the 'gong gong beater' to the effect that residents in the community must help apprehend the suspects.
Source: Daily Heritage
15 year old stroke patient sits for BECE
Tema, June 15, GNA - A 15-year-old student of the First Baptist School in Tema, on Monday, defied medical advice and sat for the 2015 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
The girl, who has been suffering from a stroke condition for the past one month, did not heed the advice of her doctors not to sit for the exams and showed up at the exams centre at the Tema Senior High School.
All efforts from Mrs Bossman Adotevi, the Headmistress of the First Baptist School, to convince the girl to abide by the medical advice proved futile as the candidate was seen comfortably sitting in the examination room smiling and insisting that she could write the exams.
Mrs Adotevi explained to the Ghana News Agency that the candidate’s whose name has been withheld, was a sickle cell patient, who has been having series of attacks.
She indicated that the stroke condition set in a month ago when she suffered one of those attacks leading to her doctor writing to the school not to allow her to sit for the exams.
She said she was surprised when the girl turned up on Monday to write the exams and all efforts to stop her yielded no result.
The Headmistress, who was visibly worried, said the girl, who was a right handed person would have to write the exams with the left hand since the stroke has affected the right part of her body.
She therefore pleaded with the Education Directorate and the exams authorities to give the girl some extra time to write the exams since she insisted on doing so.
Mr Isaac Ashai Odamtten, the Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, and Mrs Veronica Adzato-Ntem, the Tema Metropolitan Director of Education, who paid a visit to the centre and heard of the plight of the stroke candidate, directed the supervisor of the centre to give her an extra 15 minutes to help her finish the exams.
Mrs Adzato-Ntem also instructed that a copy of her medical report should be attached to all the papers she would right.
Source: GNA
The girl, who has been suffering from a stroke condition for the past one month, did not heed the advice of her doctors not to sit for the exams and showed up at the exams centre at the Tema Senior High School.
All efforts from Mrs Bossman Adotevi, the Headmistress of the First Baptist School, to convince the girl to abide by the medical advice proved futile as the candidate was seen comfortably sitting in the examination room smiling and insisting that she could write the exams.
Mrs Adotevi explained to the Ghana News Agency that the candidate’s whose name has been withheld, was a sickle cell patient, who has been having series of attacks.
She indicated that the stroke condition set in a month ago when she suffered one of those attacks leading to her doctor writing to the school not to allow her to sit for the exams.
She said she was surprised when the girl turned up on Monday to write the exams and all efforts to stop her yielded no result.
The Headmistress, who was visibly worried, said the girl, who was a right handed person would have to write the exams with the left hand since the stroke has affected the right part of her body.
She therefore pleaded with the Education Directorate and the exams authorities to give the girl some extra time to write the exams since she insisted on doing so.
Mr Isaac Ashai Odamtten, the Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, and Mrs Veronica Adzato-Ntem, the Tema Metropolitan Director of Education, who paid a visit to the centre and heard of the plight of the stroke candidate, directed the supervisor of the centre to give her an extra 15 minutes to help her finish the exams.
Mrs Adzato-Ntem also instructed that a copy of her medical report should be attached to all the papers she would right.
Source: GNA
Sunyani Municipal Director of Education Takes Over Printing Of Exam Papers
The Sunyani Municipal Education Director of Education in the Brong Ahafo Region, Ms Mary Gyimah, has taken over the printing of examination papers for all basic schools under her jurisdiction.
Information gathered by The Finder reveals that the director has contracted the Centre for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation (CPME), based in Accra, to supply examination questions to all schools in the Sunyani Municipality.
The director contracted the company to supply the questions last term but the company was unable to deliver at the end of the second term, compelling teachers to write questions on the chalkboard.
Because of this situation, most heads of schools in the municipality decided to opt out and set their examination questions as they used to do.
However, the Municipal Director, Ms Mary Gyimah, met the heads of the schools recently and warned those who want to opt out to either resign as heads of the schools or go and establish their own schools.
Previously, the schools set and printed their own examination questions. What The Finder gathered is that the schools are paying more for the exam questions compared to what they were spending when they set their own examination questions.
Some heads have to contract loans in order to pay the examination fees to the Municipal Education Directorate because some of the pupils cannot afford and they have to pay based on the population of the school.
Pupils in the Junior High School (JHS) are paying GH₵3.50 while pupils in the primary are also paying GH₵2.50.
Most of the heads are tight-lipped for fear of losing their position. A head teacher who spoke to The Finder on condition of anonymity said the new policy is putting pressure on them.
“My school used to spend between GH₵500 and GH₵600 on exam but now we have to pay GH₵1,200 for the exam.
“Last term, CPME was supposed to have supplied us with the questions but they failed in bringing them, compelling us to write our questions on the chalkboard. Most of the pupils cannot pay so I have to get money to pay for them because we have to pay based on the population of the school,” he revealed.
The heads are, therefore, calling on the Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Basic Education, Alex Kyeremeh, to intervene because the situation is not going to help in education delivery in the Sunyani Municipality. Efforts to get the director to speak on the issue have not been successful as she declined an interview.
Source: The Finder
Information gathered by The Finder reveals that the director has contracted the Centre for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation (CPME), based in Accra, to supply examination questions to all schools in the Sunyani Municipality.
The director contracted the company to supply the questions last term but the company was unable to deliver at the end of the second term, compelling teachers to write questions on the chalkboard.
Because of this situation, most heads of schools in the municipality decided to opt out and set their examination questions as they used to do.
However, the Municipal Director, Ms Mary Gyimah, met the heads of the schools recently and warned those who want to opt out to either resign as heads of the schools or go and establish their own schools.
Previously, the schools set and printed their own examination questions. What The Finder gathered is that the schools are paying more for the exam questions compared to what they were spending when they set their own examination questions.
Some heads have to contract loans in order to pay the examination fees to the Municipal Education Directorate because some of the pupils cannot afford and they have to pay based on the population of the school.
Pupils in the Junior High School (JHS) are paying GH₵3.50 while pupils in the primary are also paying GH₵2.50.
Most of the heads are tight-lipped for fear of losing their position. A head teacher who spoke to The Finder on condition of anonymity said the new policy is putting pressure on them.
“My school used to spend between GH₵500 and GH₵600 on exam but now we have to pay GH₵1,200 for the exam.
“Last term, CPME was supposed to have supplied us with the questions but they failed in bringing them, compelling us to write our questions on the chalkboard. Most of the pupils cannot pay so I have to get money to pay for them because we have to pay based on the population of the school,” he revealed.
The heads are, therefore, calling on the Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Basic Education, Alex Kyeremeh, to intervene because the situation is not going to help in education delivery in the Sunyani Municipality. Efforts to get the director to speak on the issue have not been successful as she declined an interview.
Source: The Finder
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