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Tag: Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE)

  • Thirty-four prisoners participate in 2024 BECE

    Thirty-four prisoners participate in 2024 BECE

    Thirty-four prisoners are set to participate in this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in Ghana, marking their transition from Junior High Schools to Senior High Schools and Technical Institutions.

    All candidates are male, comprising 27 juveniles from the Senior Correctional Centre (SCC), 5 from Nsawam Maximum Security Prison, and 2 from Sunyani Central Prison.

    According to the Greater Accra Regional Public Relations Officer, DSP Loretta Valentina Amoah, the inmates have received thorough preparation from qualified teachers of the Ghana Prisons Service and the Ghana Education Service.

    She expressed confidence in their abilities to excel in all subjects.

    However, she also noted challenges such as insufficient teaching and learning materials, hindering the inmates’ preparation.

    DSP Valentina Amoah called on the public to support the inmates, especially the juveniles, by donating textbooks and past exam papers to aid their studies.

    In interviews, inmate candidates expressed gratitude to their teachers for the rigorous preparation and pledged to perform well in the exams, aiming to make their educators proud.

    The Ghana Prisons Service introduced formal education on a pilot basis at the Senior Correctional Centre in 2007, extending it to other prisons later, to equip inmates with basic literacy skills and certificates for easier reintegration into society.

    Since the first batch of 21 juveniles and young offenders successfully sat for the BECE in 2009 with a 100% pass rate, subsequent cohorts have also achieved perfect pass rates, including last year’s 51 prisoners who sat for the exam.

  • 4 BECE candidates fined GHC3,000 for exam malpractice – WAEC

    4 BECE candidates fined GHC3,000 for exam malpractice – WAEC

    Four candidates who took the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) have been prosecuted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) for engaging in exam malpractice. Among them, 4 have been convicted and fined between GHC1,200 and GHC3,000. Investigations are ongoing for 13 other cases, while prosecution is underway for 2 cases.

    Rev. Victor Brew, WAEC’s Head of Legal, emphasized the importance of protecting exam integrity and called for stricter penalties to deter future offenses.

    He highlighted concerns over a new trend where candidates insert money and contact numbers into answer booklets to influence results.

    WAEC’s Head of Public Affairs, John Kapi, confirmed this emerging issue and expressed worries about an increase in exam malpractice from 2% in 2021 to 10% in 2023.

    The contact numbers come with the inscriptions, call me, help me, call my mom, to appeal to the examiners.

    Mr Kapi said “The Council is recording a high number of cases where candidates write telephone numbers or the phrase “help me”, “call me”, “just call my mom” in their answer booklets and add GHC50 or more to it.

    To monitor this year’s BECE, WAEC has enlisted support from Ghana Education Service, GNAT, Ghana Police Service, National Security, National Intelligence Bureau, and external monitoring agents.

    The exam is scheduled from July 8 to July 15, with 569,095 students expected to participate.

    Head of Legal at the Council, Rev. Victor Brew said this is part of efforts to protect the integrity of the examinations.

    “We have done some prosecutions with 4 candidates convicted and fined. We believe this should let the public know that we are very concerned about the cases of examination malpractice, and we will act on all,” he warned.

    ”The current penalty points in the law translates into a fine of between GHC1,200 to GHC3,000, which is not deterrent enough. If we can have a change in it to an amount that is hefty, then we can make some head way and deter others,” he added.

    A recent study by the West African Examination Council revealed a worrying trend of rising examination malpractice in the country.

    The period between 2021 and 2023, showed a significant increase in the percentage of candidates involved in examination malpractice from 2% in 2021 to 10% in 2023.

  • I did not take my B.E.C.E. results because I knew I had failed – Obaapa Christy

    I did not take my B.E.C.E. results because I knew I had failed – Obaapa Christy

    Ghanaian gospel sensation, Christiana Twene popularly known as Obaapa Christy, recently disclosed in an interview that she intentionally chose not to take her Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results after completing the exam.

    The artist explained that she had a feeling that she wouldn’t pass all the subjects and, as a result, opted not to return to the school to retrieve her results.

    Speaking with Roselyn Felli on Joy Prime’s Prime Morning, Obaapa Christy shared insights into her educational background, revealing her unconventional decision regarding the BECE results.

    “I reached JHS, but it’s not that I stopped; I wrote BECE, but I didn’t go for the results,” she said.

    “Did you pass”? Roselyn asked

    “I didn’t even go for it to see whether I passed or not because I foresaw that I wouldn’t pass,” the singer replied.

    See video below:

  • Students in my school pay only GHS200 as boarding fees monthly – Lilwin

    Students in my school pay only GHS200 as boarding fees monthly – Lilwin

    Popular Kumawood actor, Kwadwo Nkansah widely known as Lilwin has revealed that he charges only Ghc200 as a monthly boarding fee at his school, Great Minds International.

    In a recent YouTube video, the actor-musician explained why he chose to assist parents who are unable to pay the high cost of their children’s education.

    “Fees are so high in various schools and yet, they are not providing any quality education to reflect the huge monies they are taking.

    “Some of these institutions are just taking advantage just because the school is situated in Kumasi. There are those who attend school in Kumasi yet they have nothing to show for while others attend school in a remote village yet have come far in life,” he stated.

    He added that although his school is not participating in any kind of competition, they are still making efforts to enable students to achieve excellence.

    “My school, Great Minds is not in competition with any school so we are managing the school within our means. As you can see, the school is progressing with the second batch of Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) students graduating last Friday,” he said.

    The comic actor added that “the only challenge at the moment is that we don’t have enough buses but we are working on it to ease the movement of students from the various townships to town.”

  • GES announces SHS/TVET placement for 2022 BECE graduates

    GES announces SHS/TVET placement for 2022 BECE graduates

    Placement for 2022 graduates of the 2022 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) into Senior High Schools and Technical, Vocational, Education and Training (TVET) has been released. 

    It was released on Wednesday, February 15, by the Ghana Education Service(GES). 

    According to the Service, candidates can now log onto the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) to check their schools.

    The Director General of the Ghana Education Service, Dr. Eric Nkansah made this known at a press conference.

    According to him, “Out of the 547,329 candidates who sat for the examination, 538,399 qualified for school placement.”

    He added that “372,780 candidates have automatically been placed into various schools.”

    However, 165,601 candidates will have to do self-placement because they could not be matched to their school of choice,” he also said. 

    Meanwhile, Dr Nkansah insisted that first-year students are expected to report to school on February 20 for their admission processes to begin.

    Source: Myjoyonline

  • 2022 BECE school placement starts today; check the selection criteria

    The selection of schools by candidates of the 2022 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) begins today, October 31, 2022.

    National Coordinator of the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS), Mark Sasu Mensah, made this known in an interview on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo show.

    Accoridng to him, the selection process will come to an end on November 18, 2022.

    He encouraged the candidates to pay key attention to the criteria for the school placement.

    Candidates with guidance and assistance from parents/guardians and school authorities must choose six schools (1st – 6th choices ) in all.

    In category A, there are 86 schools, which includes Ghana Education Service (GES) schools and TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) schools. A candidate is supposed to choose one school from this category.

    In category B, there are 264 schools and a candidate is supposed to select a maximum of two schools. Category C provides 562 schools. The maximum the candidate can select is five.

    A candidate must choose a compulsory day as 6th choice (Catchment Area School) or choose boarding School from the list of schools

    “You are supposed to select that school that is 16km or 10 miles within your catchment area. You must select that as Day school. There is also the 120 special boarding schools under the catchment area. These are low enrolment schools,” he added.

    Candidates who wish to offer purely TVET Programmes must select all six TVETS.

    Also, candidates must select programmes and accommodation for each selected school.

    Mr Mensah entreated candidates to be careful when inputting codes of the programme they wish to study.

    “If it is General Arts, put the 501 there. So you know you have chosen the correct one,” he added.

     

     

     

     

  • 2022 BECE: School placement to start in March 2023 – CSSPS

    The National Coordinator of the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS), Mark Sasu Mensah, has revealed that school placement for qualified candidates of this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) will commence in March 2023.

    Mark Sasu Mensah made this known during an interview on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo on October 28, 2022.

    A total of 552,288 candidates sat for the 2022 BECE which began on October 17, 2022. The exams came to an end on October 22, 2022.

    According to the CSSPS National Coordinator, the selection of schools will begin today, October 31, and will come to an end on November 18, 2022.

    “West African Examinations Council (WAEC) will open the portal today,” he added.

    He noted that WAEC would release the results of the exams in the next 75 days.

    “We are hoping that in December or January, if they release the result, by March 2023, we do the placement,” he said.

    Source: The Independent Ghana

     

  • Education is important – Obaapa Christy after failing to write B.E.C.E

    Gospel singer, Obaapa Christy, has disclosed that she finally sees the importance of education after running away from writing her Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

    Speaking on Rainbow Radio, the songstress said, one needs a positive attitude to sail through school smoothly.

    “I have come to discover that education is important. You need a positive mindset to succeed.

    “If I had that positive mindset, I think I would have made it. But it is not too late. I will be going back to school. It is not too late to go back to school,” she said.

    The gospel artiste also added that, if God was to bless people according to their level of education, she would be at the bottom of the list of candidates.

    “If God only blessed people according to their level of education, I will not be where I am today. God gave me something, and that is what I have done all these years.”

    Obaapa Christy has announced a special concert to mark her 20th anniversary in the gospel music scene.

    The concert will be held at the University of Professional Studies Accra (UPSA) main auditorium on September 4, 2022.

    Source:ghanaweb.com

  • How Mahama dealt with inadequate textbooks in basic schools

    Formal education builds competitive approach and gives unique experiences which boost the confidence of children and expand their circle of knowledge. There are a few billionaires like Bill Gates, Ritesh Agarwal, and Gautam Adani who achieved success without having a college degree, but education played a crucial role in laying the foundation for their success.

    The basic knowledge and experiences gained are what allowed the wider picture to emerge in their later life. It is against this background that President John Dramani Mahama saw the need to invest in the development of children at the basic level of education in Ghana.

    In 2013, the Mahama-led government distributed 12.5 million English, Mathematics, and Science textbooks to public basic schools. This enabled Ghana to exceed the universal textbook-pupil ratio of three textbooks for one pupil.

    By the time President John Dramani Mahama was leaving office, Ghana’s textbook-to-pupil ratio stood at 4:1 (four textbooks for one pupil.) Before this achievement, three pupils used to share one textbook.

    Besides, 1,437,500 readers, 6,900 teaching manuals, and 9,200 teaching guides were distributed to facilitate teaching and learning.

    Aside this, President Mahama made many other unprecedented interventions to improve basic education in the country.

    For instance, about two million pupils were supplied with free school uniforms from 2010 to 2016.

    Also, a total of 854,040 BECE candidates benefited from the payment of BECE subsidies.

    The total coverage of the School Feeding Programme was increased from 441,189 children to 1,693,000 children. It was fully funded by the Government of Ghana after the Dutch Government withdrew its funding.

    To improve ICT education, 60,000 free laptops were distributed to Basic School pupils in all the then ten regions, under the Basic School Computerization Program. Furthermore, 50,000 basic school teachers across the country benefited
    from ICT training.

    To further consolidate these gains and offer more opportunities for Ghanaian school children, the following interventions were made:

    Ten thousand free locally produced school sandals were distributed to pupils in selected deprived districts.

    Under the unequaled Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) Resit Policy, one thousand, one hundred and eighty-one (1,181) candidates had the chance to resit their BECE as private candidates in February 2015. These were persons who, but for this golden opportunity would have had their education terminated at the Junior High School level.

    Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:8 of the Bible said: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think of these things.”

    In a similar vein, I want you to think of the above-mentioned achievements of President Mahama at the basic level of education in Ghana: whether they are true; whether they are honest; whether they are just; whether they are praiseworthy, and whether they are of good report.

    Source: ghanaweb.com