Atebubu: Five nursing mothers and two pregnant girls are among the candidates sitting for the ongoing Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in the Atebubu-Amantin Municipality of the Bono East Region. Additionally, three candidates with hearing and speech impairments are also participating in the examination, which is being conducted across nine centers within the municipality.

According to Ghana News Agency, this information was revealed during a monitoring tour of the examination centers by Madam Adiza Tassa, Director of Early Childhood and Care Education at the Ghana Education Service (GES). It was observed that 14 candidates, comprising seven boys and seven girls, were absent from the examination, although no official reasons were provided for their absence.

Madam Tassa cautioned candidates against engaging in examination malpractice, warning that such actions could lead to the cancellation or withholding of their results. This, in turn, could jeopardize their chances of benefiting from the government’s Free Senior High School programme.

Statistics from the Municipal Directorate of Education indicate that a total of 2,224 candidates from 85 schools-52 public and 33 private-are sitting for the examination. This number includes 1,085 males and 1,139 females.