32 fail to write BECE in Mfantseman District

Anomabo (C/R), April 28, GNA - Thirty-two out of 3,027 candidates for the 2006 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in the Mfantseman District failed to report.

The absentees were 13 boys and 19 girls, Miss Felicity E Dadzie, Ghana Education Service (GES) Officer in charge of Examinations, stated when Mr Robert Quainoo-Arthur, District Chief Executive (DCE), visited examination centres in the District.

At the Anomabo Catholic School, the DCE was informed that a female student, Francisca Arthur, from the Yamoransa Methodist Junior secondary School could not write the examination because she was suffering from breast cancer.

When the DCE contacted the District Girl-Child Education Officer, Miss Julia Damalie, if the girl's plight had been reported to the authorities, the officer said she was not aware and promised to visit and report on her condition to the DCE and the District Director of Education.

At the Mankessim Secondary Technical School, the DCE was informed that a student of the Cambridge Preparatory School, who had a surgical operation last Saturday, had to leave his sick bed and travel over six kilo meters each day because the authorities would not allow him to write the papers at the hospital.

Mr Quainoo-Arthur learnt that the father, who took him every morning had to wait for him till the end of the examination for the day. When the DCE visited the boy in the examination hall, he said even though in pain, there was no alternative for him than to write the examination.

The DCE expressed surprise that it could not be arranged for the boy to write the papers at the hospital and recalled a similar situation last year, involving a student of the Anomabo Methodist JSS who took his examination while he was on admission.

He stated, "This is a punishment for both the boy and the father" and appealed to school authorities and parents to inform the District Education and his office in case of such incidents in future. When the DCE contacted Miss Vivian Etroo, District Director of Education, she said the boy's plight got to her notice only when he had already started the examination. No reasons were assigned for those who failed to turn up for the examinations.