₵2.4m BECE questions printing centre to be built in Ashanti region

Funded by AngloGold Ashanti, the construction of an examination questions printing centre to serve as the central point of printing everything examination related including BECE mock papers has commenced in Obuasi.

In a Ghana News Agency blog post sighted by Thisterm.com, the state-of-the-art examination questions printing centre when completed will serve as a hub of printing examination questions for schools in the Obuasi Municipality.

The GH¢2.4 million project is expected to bring some relief to parents of students in the Obuasi Municipality who would no longer have to pay printing fees for their wards upon the completion of the project in the next four months.

Financed by AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine under its 10-year Socio-Economic Development Plan (SEDP), the examination facility comes with printing and production, storage, changing and washrooms.

“We are excited about the construction of the exams printing centre, which highlights our dedication to enhance accessibility and efficiency of exams preparation for students in the Obuasi Municipality,” Mr Jacob Edmund-Acquah, Senior Manager, Projects Services and Business Improvement of AngloGold Ashanti, said at a ceremony.

He said the expectation is that the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) pass rate in the Obuasi would move from 94 per cent to 100 per cent after the construction of the centre coupled with the other educational interventions.

“By investing in education infrastructure, we are not only contributing to enhancing the development of Obuasi but also nurturing the talents and potential of our students,” the Project Manager of AngloGold Ashanti told journalists.

Mr Edmund-Acquah said the examination printing centre was one of many infrastructures in the education sector being funded by the company and mentioned a plethora of completed and ongoing projects.

In a related development, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is expected to release the results of Junior High School (JHS) graduates who sat for the 33rd edition of the Basic Education Certificate Examination this month.

A total of 600,714 candidates, comprising 300,323 boys and 300,391 girls from 18,993 Junior High Schools participated in the 2023 BECE for School Candidates which began on Monday, August 7, 2023, to Friday, August 11, 2023.

With regard to the 2023 BECE for Private Candidates, a total entry figure of 1,743 candidates was recorded. This is made up of 889 males and 854 females. This year’s figure is 5.4% higher than the entry figure of 1,132 for 2022.

The 2023 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) for School Candidates was held at 2,137 examination centres across the country, while 15 centres mainly in the regional capitals were used for the BECE for Private candidates.