Accra, April 21, GNA - The Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) on Monday delayed for almost an hour in some schools in Accra, as a result of the late dispatch of the question papers to the centres. At 0910 hours when Mr Samuel Banmnerman-Mensah, Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) and newsmen arrived at the Osu Presbyterian Girls Primary and Junior High School (JHS) centre, the candidates were seated anxiously waiting for the English question paper to arrive.

Ms Rose Jayne Kwofie, Supervisor, told newsmen that although the examination should have begun at 0900 hours, only 225 question papers had been received instead of 440.

The situation was not different at the St. Barnabas Anglican JHS, also at Osu, where candidates were yet to begin the English paper at 0940 hours.

The examination began at both centres at the Accra High School at 0930 and 0940 hours respectively, while candidates at the Accra Girls Senior High School centre began writing the paper after 1000 hours. At "Centre A", at Accra High School, two candidates, a male and female, were absent while "Centre B" recorded three absentees, two females and one male.

Some of the candidates told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that they were not happy about the delay, because it made them anxious.

"In fact, I was very scared, thinking that the papers must have been cancelled," Kenneth Asare, a candidate at the Accra Girls School, told GNA.

Mr Bannerman-Mensah expressed disappointment at the delay but he expressed optimism that the problem would not recur in subsequent papers.

He explained that in Accra, the question papers were always transported to the examination centres in the morning in order to prevent leakage. "This problem would not occur in other regions," he said.

The Director-General said 337,000 candidates were taking the examinations this year as against 321,000 last year, pointing out that the increase was an indication of the rise in enrolment. Mrs Agnes Teye-Cudjoe, Head of Public Affairs of the West African Examination Council (WAEC), in an interview with GNA by telephone said the Council had not yet been informed about the delay and she could therefore not give reasons.

No examination malpractice was recorded at the centres GNA visited.