The ongoing Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) of 2023 has been marred by allegations of financial mismanagement by a headteacher and heartrending consequences for some final year students in the Gomoa East district.
The headteacher of the Gomoa Budu Atta DA Junior High School stands accused of misappropriating registration fees, leaving distraught students unable to sit for their exams.
As of the start of the exam on August 7, 2023, the school principal was nowhere to be found.
Some final year students were seen in tears after not being able to participate in the exam due to the situation that left them devastated.
Meanwhile, the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) for 2023 commenced on August 7, 2023, and will be written by over 600,000 candidates from 18,993 schools across the country; they consist of 300,323 boys and 300,391 girls.
These candidates will be the final group of students to take the BECE.
Following the implementation of the new curriculum in 2019, a new exam will be given in 2024.
In 2024, students will write their Junior High School leaving examination, which will be based on the new Standard-based curriculum.
What this means is 2024 will see the introduction of a new BECE and a new era in examining students.
However, it must be noted that BECE has been in existence for over 30 years.