The Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC) is calling on the government to release funds to the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) scheduled for July 8, 2024.

In a statement, GNECC indicated that it’s deeply troubled by recent announcements from WAEC regarding the impending BECE.

“Records from WAEC indicate that the government owes the council an amount of GH₵698,500 being the outstanding balance needed for the 2023 BECE exams. For the 2024 examination, only 2.28 million Ghana cedis have so far been disbursed out of the ₵95,837,306 needed to facilitate the examination.

“The BECE is not only vital for assessing students’ academic progress but also for determining their placement in senior high schools. Any disruption to this examination could have far-reaching consequences for the educational and future career prospects of these young learners,” Bernice Mpere-Gyekye, National Coordinator for GNECC disclosed.

She continued: “It’s sad to note that these issues are now coming up with just about three weeks to the start of the BECE, which has the potential not only to disrupt the smooth facilitation of the examinations but also affect the mindset of learners preparing to take the exams.

“GNECC strongly urges the government to take immediate action to address this funding shortfall. We call on the Ministry of Education, The Ghana Education Service and other relevant authorities to prioritize the release of all necessary funds to WAEC, before the close of next week to ensure that the BECE can proceed as planned.”

Attached below is the full statement