Tepa (Ash), April 26, GNA - Ten candidates, five of whom are pregnant, were absent from this year's Basic School Certificate Examination (BECE) in the Ahafo-Ano North District.

Mr Joseph Osei Poku, the Public Relations Officer of the GES District Directorate at Tepa, said the five girls failed to turn up for the examination even though they were persuaded to do so.

Two of the remaining candidates whose parents were settler farmers accompanied their parents to their hometowns in the Northern Region before the examination. Two others were sick and could not turn up. He said the remaining candidate wrote only the first paper, English Language, but failed to turn up for the rest of the papers because the boy said he did not prepare adequately for the examination. 26 April 05