Twenty-five persons with disabilities, including six visually impaired, are among the 3,072 candidates in the Cape Coast Metropolis writing the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) which started nationwide on Monday.

A total of 43,987 candidates are participating in this year’s examinations at the 126 centres in the Central Region.

There are seven centres in the Cape Coast Metropolis, namely, Mfantsipim School, Holy Child School, University Practice Senior High School, Efutu Senior High School, St Augustine’s College, Wesley Girls High School and Adisadel College, with 10 supervisors and 105 invigilators.

Five out of the seven centres in the Metropolis which the Ghana News Agency visited, 10 candidates made up of eight females and two males were absent without any known reason, except one female at the Mfantsipim School Centre whose supervisor said she recently delivered and it was assumed to be the reason why she was not present even though she was expected to come.

However, a female candidate who gave birth three weeks ago was among those who wrote the examinations at the University Practice Senior High School Centre.

The examinations started smoothly with no problems, except for one candidate at Mfantsipim School centre who had an Asthma attack, but she was promptly attended to by her teacher who provided her with an inhaler.

The Mayor of Cape Coast, Ms. Pricilla Arhin, in the company of some regional Ghana Education Service officials, visited some of the centres to wish the candidates success.

She encouraged them to work hard, follow instructions given and avoid cheating in order to pass and gain admission into the well endowed Senior High Schools in the region.

At Mfantsipim School, where 546 candidates made up of 303 females and 243 males from 16 schools are writing, two candidates, a boy and girl, were absent.

At the Holy Child School, where the 25 persons with disabilities including six blind persons out of 442 candidates writing from 15 basic schools, 207 are males and 235 females. Three females were absent.

Two females and a male out of 460 candidates, made up of 234 males and 226 females from seven Basic schools writing the papers at the University Practice Senior High School Centre, were absent.

At the Efutu Senior High School centre, 272 candidates made up of 143 males and 129 females were writing, but two females were absent.

None of the 341 candidates, made up of 161 males and 180 females writing at the Saint Augustine’s College centre, was absent.

Emelia Ankomah, Municipal Chief Executive for Upper Denkyira East, visited some Selected Examination Centres in the municipality to get first hand information on preparations towards the B.E.C.E, and encourage the candidates to conduct themselves well.

The centres included the Boamponsem and the Dunkwa Senior High/Technical School Exanimation Centres.

The MCE advised them against sending any foreign material to the examination hall, adding that they should also try to read and understand each question before attempting to answer them.

She was accompanied by the Municipal Director of Education Mrs. Agnes Boakye, and the Municipal information Officer, Mr. Richard Asiedu.

In all, 56 Schools, made up of 48 public and eight private Schools with a total of 1,773 candidates, made up of 971 males and 802 females, are writing the five-day examinations in the Upper Denkyira Municipality.