The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has warned proprietors and school authorities not to prevent any candidate from taking the BECE due to unpaid school fees.
Madam Agnes Teye-Cudjoe, Head of Public Affairs of the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) Ghana, explained to Alfred Ocansey on the 3FM Sunrise Morning Show on Monday 17 October 2022 that the government pays the full examination fees of all candidates writing the BECE in government schools, whereas those from private schools pay their BECE fees themselves.
However, once the candidate has paid his or her examination fees, which are separate from the school fees, the candidate cannot be denied the opportunity to write the exams due to school fee arrears. As a result, schools should look for alternative sources of funding.
As a result, rather than preventing students from taking exams, schools should find other ways to collect their fees.
“We will not advise proprietors to prevent candidates from taking the BECE because they have not paid their school fees.” Allow them to write the exams after they have paid their examination fees, and then find other ways to pay the school fees,” she advised proprietors.
Furthermore, students who have not paid their examination fees are not candidates and will not be able to write the exams. She also advised parents or guardians whose children are unable to complete the BECE to contact the district education office.
The WAEC head of Public Affairs also stated that because the examination centres are usually not the candidate’s school, it would be difficult for candidates to be fired because the invigilators are also not school teachers.
“I will continue to advise the parent to send the candidate (ward) to the examination centre, and the supervisors will permit the candidate to write the exams,” she stated emphatically.
The West African Examination Council (WAEC) announced ahead of the exams that a total of 552,276 candidates from 18,501 schools across the country will take the exams for school candidates, while 1,132 private candidates have registered for the exams and will take the papers at 15 selected centres beginning Monday, October 17, 2022.
There are 276,988 males and 275,288 females among the school candidates. There are 634 males and 498 females among the private candidates.
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WAEC reports that the total number of candidates representing the schools is 3.48 percent lower than the 572,167 figure from 2021.
She assured that candidates with impairments or disabilities would be accommodated. According to registration information, 65 candidates have a visual impairment and 47 have a hearing impairment. Candidates with physical challenges are also given an extra hour and thirty minutes.
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