Adukrom, Jan 11, GNA - Some 275 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates for this year in the Okere constituency were enrolled in special holiday classes to ensure that no zero percent is scored. The candidates were selected from 17 schools in the deprived areas of the constituency that had persistently scored zero percent at the BECE over the years.

Some of the communities are Amanfrom, Obawale, Twum-Guaso, Kobokobo, Nyamebekyere, Sanfo, Krutiase, Asenema, Okrakwadwo, Nsutam, Bepoase and Mile 14.

The candidates were camped at the Nifa Senior High School at Adukrom for two-weeks where experienced teachers from the constituency had been contracted to take them through the core subjects.

Mr Dan Kwaku Botwe, the Member of Parliament for Okere who initiated the programme, said it was meant to boost the morale of the candidates, particularly those coming from the rural areas, to have the confidence and the technical know-how in approaching the examination. He said over the years the results from the constituency had been bad and last year none of the candidates from four schools in the area qualified to enter Senior High School.

Mr Botwe said apart from the holiday school, he had also instituted measures to pay for extra classes for all the rural schools in the constituency to ensure that teachers spent some time with the pupils after normal school hours to take them through the perceived difficult subjects. He said the programme was being funded from his share of the common fund and other sources at a cost of about GHC 6,000.

The course coordinator, Mr Edmund Amoah, said the candidates were being taken through English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies since those were the areas that they performed in badly. Some of the candidates who spoke to GNA expressed gratitude to the MP and said their parents could not afford to pay for the extra classes. 11 Jan 10