2013 BECE Ends

Students jubilate after the exams

Final year students of Junior High Schools (JHS) across the country on Monday completed the 2013 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) successfully amidst jubilation and prayers of thanks-giving from the candidates.

The week-long examination started across the country on Monday June 17, at some 1,378 designated centres with a total of 391,079 candidates from both public and private schools.

At several examination centres across the country, the candidates were seen powdering  themselves, while others went on their knees  with their hands raised skywards as they either sang Christian praise songs or prayed to thank God for seeing them through the examination.

While the BECE is the end of formal education for several of the candidates, some of them would continue to the Senior High School (SHS) to continue their academic pursuit.

Their jubilation is justified considering the fact that not all who started the exams last Monday lived to see its end.

Reports from Kumasi had it that one of the candidates, 16-year old Frank Noru, a pupil of State Experimental School who was writing the ongoing external examination at the Opoku Ware Senior High School met his untimely death on last week Friday when he was accidentally hit by a stone from a mower at the Examination Centre.

Two other candidates, Amuzu Andrews Ashietey and Abdul Rauf of the Kpone Methodist and Michel Camp One Basic Junior High schools respectively in Accra were also reported to have died after short illnesses.

When DAILY GUIDE visited some of the centres just after the BECE ended Monday afternoon, authorities said the examinations were generally incident-free and the confidence of the candidates exhibited bright prospects for their results.

Mr Dome Carson, Headmaster, Queen Model Junior High School told DAILY GUIDE, that this year's BECE was one of the peaceful and successful examination held in the country so far.

'There has not been any malpractice since day one of the exams till the end. I expect my students to come out with flying colours', he said.

Mr Carson advised the entire students who have completed their basic education to continue learning while waiting for their results, adding that they should enrol in computer training or even pre-SHS.

He urged them not to engage in computer fraud which had the tendency of destroying their future.

Foster Sevor, Headmaster of Mamobi Bethany Junior High School, was of the opinion that this year's student would do better than those who wrote last year.

This he said was because the students prepared better and looked more determined than last year's students, adding that 'We hope they will not disappoint us, but will pass and pass well.'

The supervisor at the Kanda Cluster, Nutifafa Mortey, said the turn out for this year's exams was more than last year, stating that 'we recorded less pregnant women in this year's exams, compared to last year'.

Many of the students, who spoke to DAILY GUIDE, were of the view that the exams were easy and would definitely come out with flying colours.

Felicia Mensah, one of the candidates from Mamobi Bethany Junior High School said 'the exams were very easy, they were just like the mocks we did in school'.

She continued,'I feel very happy to have completed basic school education and I can't wait to enter Senior High School. While I am waiting for my result, I will help my mum to sell at the market to make save money for my SHS education'.

 By Cephas Larbi