Obuasi, May 21, GNA - Mr Samuel Kofi Okyere, Adansi West District Director of Education, has stated that it is an offence for any headmaster or headmistress to deny a student from registering for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

He said once the student had reached the examination year, there was no point for a head of school to "determine who should be registered and who should be left out".

Mr Okyere made this point when it came out at a meeting with members of the district branch of the Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) at Obuasi that some of the schools refused to register their weak students for the BECE.

The district director explained that repetition of a weak student has not been abolished but that should be done with the knowledge of the parent.

"But if you promote him or her from primary one up to JSS three, you do not have any excuse to refuse to register him or her for the BECE", Mr Okyere emphasised.

He advised the proprietors to assist their teachers to improve their professional and academic competence since they would be the eventual beneficiaries.

Mrs Victoria Enimil, chairman of the district GNAPS, expressed concern about the mushrooming of private schools in the Obuasi town operating without the knowledge of the association.

She appealed to the district director to create a private school's desk at the district education office to promote effective collaboration between them and the directorate as well as effective monitoring.

The association expressed great concern about the supply of textbooks to only public schools and appealed to the director to consider them since they are also partners in the education delivery. 21 May 04