Sale of scratch cards for accessing BECE/WASSCE results unreasonable – Group

A research and advocacy think-tank has asked the Ministry of Education to scrap the use of scratch card by BECE and WASSCE candidates in accessing their results, describing the sale of the cards as exploitative.

Since 2004, results of students who sit for WAEC examinations are first released online before hardcopies are dispatched to the various schools for candidates to pick them up.

Candidates wishing to utilise the online platform to check their results are required to buy a scratch card for 5 cedis before they are able to gain access to the WAEC system.

But this, according to CUTS Ghana, places a serious financial burden on both students and their parents.

In a statement issued Thursday, it said once the system was moved from the manual process to electronic, the cost associated with it reduces ought to reduce.

It said “there are no valid reasons to surcharge candidates” before being able to have access to their results online.

It cited Kenya and Zambia where exams results are released electronically but said candidates were not charged before being allowed access to their system to check exams results.

The think-tank has meanwhile lauded the government for the introduction of the computer school selection placement.

“With this new system, a candidate had to know the school which he or she had been placed. In the past, the state was incurring more cost in placing candidate manually but with this computer-based placement, the cost has come down substantially,” it said.

The group added: “currently WAEC and GES charge 5 cedis per pupil or student before accessing results online and their school of placement.”