BECE candidate has miscarriage in examination room

Abuakwa (Ash), April 21, GNA - A pregnant 16-year-old candidate of the Atwima-Abuakwa Neumann International School had a miscarriage while writing the English language paper of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) at the Tweneboa Kodua International School examination centre at Abuakwa near Kumasi on Monday.

She was rushed to the Abuakwa Government Health Centre where she was treated and discharged the following day to enable her to continue to write the examinations.

The girl, who looked healthy and well composed on her discharge, was however, advised to report daily at the hospital before and after the examinations.

Another pregnant girl of Abuakwa Local Authority Junior Secondary School, was among the candidates writing the BECE at the same examination centre.

According to the girl, she now lived with her stepmother, Madam Adwoa Fosuaa, after the death of her real mother. The stepmother, she said, left for Dunkwa-on-Offin to attend a funeral and spent about three months, which made it difficult for her to feed herself and pay her school fees.

As a result, the girl said she befriended one Abass, who traded in video decks, television sets and other electrical gadgets at Adum in Kumasi but resident at Abuakwa.

"I became pregnant and Abass initially gave me 150,000 cedis a week. He later told me that he was going to collect more money from his parents in the Northern Region and that was the last time I heard of him", she bemoaned.

Mr Osei Broni, proprietor of the Neumann International School, when contacted, corroborated the girl's story and said she owed about 400,000 cedis school fees.

Mr Broni said the school authorities permitted her to attend classes on humanitarian grounds because they did not want to jeopardise her future.

He said about 12 similar brilliant but needy pupils were being catered for by the school authorities and advised parents to take proper care of their children and also provide them with their basic needs.