Gov’t releases GH¢50 million to WAEC for 2024 WASSCE and BECE
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has received GHC50 million from the government for the conduct of the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination and Basic Education Certificate Examination (WASSCE and BECE), the Ministry of Education (MoE) has disclosed.
In a statement sighted by Pretertiary.com, the Education Ministry said that disbursement reaffirms the government’s commitment to fulfilling its financial obligations to WAEC, ensuring that the Council’s operations continue without interruption.
“The Ministry of Education is pleased to announce the release of Fifty million (GHC 50 million) to the West African Examination Council (WAEC) to support the conduct of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE)
This disbursement reaffirms the government’s commitment to fulfilling its financial obligations to WAEC, ensuring that the Council’s operations continue without interruption
“We wish to reassure all stakeholders, especially students, parents, guardians, and the general public, of our dedication to sustaining an environment that fosters seamless, efficient, and high-quality education for all Ghanaian students,” it noted.
Ahead of the 2024 WASSCE and BECE administration, the central government paid the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) an amount of GH¢47 million for the conduct of the national and International examinations.
Initially, WAEC had only received GH₵2.3 million of the GH₵95.83 million debt. This led the Council to request at least 50% of the total amount to conduct the examination and additional funds to process and release the results.
The release of the GH¢50 million comes after Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education, Peter Nortsu-Kotoe, said the not-for-profit-making organization (WAEC) has postponed the marking of the 2024 BECE amid a lack of funds for the process.
The postponement of the 2024 BECE scripts marking, the government official said, is because the government has not released ease funds to the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to enable them to begin the examination process.
“The delay in marking has resulted in the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) postponing the marking of scripts from this month to September, which will disrupt the school calendar,” Peter Nortsu-Kotoe told the media.
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) successfully conducted the West African Senior School Certificate Examination for School Candidates, 2024.
The examination, which started on Monday, August 5, 2024, with the administration of the Visual Art Project work, ended on Friday, September 20, 2024.
A total of 460,611 candidates, made up of 212,954 males and 247,657 females, presented by 1,003 participating schools registered for the examination. The examination was administered at 1,000 centres across the country.
For the Basic Education Certificate Examination, a total of 569,236 candidates, comprising 282,703 males and 286,533 females from nineteen thousand, five hundred and five (19,505) participating Junior High Schools (JHSs) entered for the school examination.
This includes fifty-nine (59) candidates with visual impairment, two hundred and sixty-three (263) with hearing impairment, and one hundred and sixty-one (161) candidates with other test accommodation needs.
The examination was conducted at two thousand, one hundred and twenty-three (2,123) centres across the country. Out of the total number, three thousand, eight hundred and forty-five (3,845) candidates were absent
The BECE for Private Candidates recorded a total entry figure of one thousand, three hundred and ninety (1,390) candidates. This was made up of seven hundred and fifty (750) males and six hundred and forty (640) females
Fifteen (15) centres, mostly in the regional capitals, were used for the BECE for Private Candidates. Out of the total number of candidates who entered for the examination, fifty-seven (57) were absent.
