Seven out of 10 pregnant candidates could not write the just-ended Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in the Amansie West District of the Ashanti Region.
One male registered candidate - Emmanuel Boateng – was also reported dead before the start of the exams.
This came to light during a familiarisation tour of some examination centres in the district by the District Chief Executive (DCE), Alex Kwame Bonsu, and the District Director of Education, Mrs Dora Atimbira, to see for themselves the atmosphere under which the exams was being conducted.
The DCE, Kwame Bonsu, urged the candidates not to panic but consider the BECE as part of their normal examinations, only that this time around the questions were set by other teachers instead of their school teachers.
In a related development, the Amansie West District Assembly has procured 600 pieces of dual desks and 20 sets of teachers’ furniture at a cost of GH₵161,000.
The furniture have been handed over to the District Directorate of Education for onward distribution to needy schools.
The DCE, Alex Kwame Bonsu, disclosed that the assembly has budgeted to procure 1,000 dual desks for schools in the district, saying that the first 600 dual desks form part of the plan.
Mr Bonsu asked the education directorate to prioritise BECE Centres in the distribution of the desks.
The Ashanti Region presented the highest number of candidates for this year's Basic Education Certificate Examination with a total of 91,349 registered candidates.
This year's figure has recorded a near parity in the number of boys and girls.
A total of 46,931 boys and 44,418 girls wrote the five-day examination at 349 centres in all the 30 administrative districts of the region.
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