By Lawrence Odoom/Phalonzy
Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has issued a firm directive to the Ghana Education Service to undertake an urgent and comprehensive review of the examination question paper distribution system, following a disruptive delay that marred the start of the Basic Education Certificate Examination at the Boako centre on Monday, May 4.
The incident left 273 candidates from nine schools in limbo as answer booklets sat idle without accompanying question papers, while other centres nationwide had already commenced the examination. At the time of the Minister’s visit, supervisors, invigilators, and anxious candidates were still awaiting the arrival of the papers, roughly 15 minutes behind schedule.
Expressing profound disquiet over the lapse, Mr. Iddrisu charged the GES Director-General to collaborate expeditiously with the West African Examinations Council to rectify the distribution framework governing the conveyance of examination materials.
“Ordinarily, candidates are supposed to be seated 15 minutes before the examination. However, I see answer sheets here without question papers,” he said.
“They are now on their way. We must therefore review the process of transporting examination questions to centres. Director-General, you sit on the WAEC Council, so we need immediate reforms,” he added.
He emphasized that the sanctity and timeliness of national examinations must not be compromised by preventable operational failures, calling for robust reforms to safeguard the integrity of the BECE and protect the interests of candidates.