Cape Coast, April 11, GNA - A total of 38,610 candidates including four blind and 33 deaf students are writing this year's Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in the Central Region, with 2,803 of the number coming from the Cape Coast Metropolis. The Member of Parliament for Cape Coast, Mr. Ebo Barton-Odro, in the company of the Chief Executive of the Cape Coast Metropolis, Mr. Anthony Egyir Aikins, and the Metropolitan Director of Education, Madam Vivian Etroo, visited some of the centers on Monday, to motivate the students to exhibit high sense of discipline during the exams. A total of eight students were absent at the four centres and when asked about their whereabouts by the Ghana News Agency, the supervisors indicated that some were sick while others had travelled out of the country.

At the Holy Child School centre, a total of 485 students from 14 schools were seen busily writing the English paper with four students absent, while the Mfantsipim School centre also a total of 440 students from 14 schools with no absentees.

The centre at Adisadel College had a total of 517 students from 16 schools with four absentees, while all the 407 students from nine schools at the St. Augustine's College centre were present. Miss. Esther Edjeani, from the Ghana Education Service in Accra, who was in the Region to supervise the examination at the various centres, said her visit was to ensure the smooth conduct of the examination and asked the students to conduct themselves well. Mr. Barton-Odro and Mr. Aikins took turns to address the candidates advising them to abstain from examination malpractices because they could be prosecuted when caught.

They advised the students to be disciplined and believe in themselves that they could come out with the best results and asked them not to disappoint their teachers and parents. Madam Etroo reiterated calls for the students to abide by the rules and regulations of the examination and pass their papers well so as to gain admissions to the best secondary schools in the country.