Education

WAEC Awardee were Shattered Due to Insufficient Funds

The dreams of a WAEC Awardee were shattered due to insufficient funds, leading to an abrupt halt in their education journey. A West African Examinations Council (WAEC) awardee, Akosua Adjei Boateng is unable to continue her education at the tertiary level because of a lack of funds.

Akosua, an orphan and a former student of Juaso Senior High Technical School at Juaso in the Ashanti Region obtained grade A in eight subjects in the 2023 WASSCE.

The audience gathered at the National Theatre where WAEC held its Distinction Awards was shocked to hear that Akosua was still at home because there were no funds to enable her to continue her education.

Meanwhile, WAEC had adjudged her the best candidate for the technical program.

After receiving her cash prize and certificate of recognition from WAEC, Dr Eric Nkansah, the Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), made an exciting announcement to the audience. He declared that he would personally take responsibility for Akosua’s education.

ALSO READ: Leonard K. Marton Receives 2023 WAEC Distinction Award for excelling in WASSCE

Following the event, it was reported that Dr Nkansah, who hails from Juaso, had requested Akosua and some of her family members to meet with him.

WAEC Awardee were Shattered Due to Insufficient Funds

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Akosua revealed her ambition to become a civil engineer.

During the Council’s Distinction awards ceremony, Mr John Kapi, the Head of Public Affairs at WAEC, brought attention to Akosua’s situation.

Mr. Kapi, in his announcement about Akosua’s outstanding grades in the 2023 WASSCE for School Candidates, emphasized that despite her remarkable achievements, she had not yet secured a place in any tertiary institution.

ALSO READ: BECE 2024 may be canceled due to financial constraints – WAEC

He stressed the importance of providing Akosua with the necessary support to ensure she could pursue her education at the tertiary level. This call for assistance highlights the significance of empowering talented individuals like Akosua to reach their full potential.

The Minority caucus ON WAEC Awardee were Shattered Due to Insufficient Funds

The Minority caucus on the Education Committee in Parliament has called for an urgent stakeholder meeting to resolve the government’s indebtedness to the West African Examination Council (WAEC).

WAEC has consistently raised concerns over the government’s continued indebtedness to the entity, making them unable to pay their service providers, including invigilators and examiners.

Ranking Member on the Education Committee, Peter Nortsu-Kotoe, revealed that the government owes WAEC over GH₵300 million for the period between 2022 and 2024.

“We still have some arrears of 2022 to be cleared which is about GHs9,972,000 for the 2022 WASSCE which is outstanding. Then again for 2023, before Friday, it was GHs56,515,000. They have paid GHs10 million, so the remaining GHs46,515,000 is owed to WAEC. As for 2024, the government has not touched it at all, which is in the sum of GHs178,342,000. That is what they are owing. So if you put that of WASSCE together, it is GHs224,857,000 in total for WASSCE alone- 2022, 2023, 2024.”

“If you come to BECE, for 2023, they have just 698,000 outstanding. 2024, the cost of GHs95,837,000. They have given them only GHs2.3 million. Now GHs93 million is outstanding so if you put what is outstanding plus the GHs698,000 for 2023, there is an outstanding money of GHs94 million on the 2023 and 2024 BECE to be cleared,” he said.

Mr Nortsu-Kotoe noted that the Council is already losing experienced examiners due to the Council’s inability to pay for services provided.

“We are losing seasoned examiners who moderate the questions, who prepare the marking scheme and do a lot of things for them. Because they are coming to do work for you and you are not paying them, so they don’t want to do it again. So you see that they have to take on new examiners who are not experienced and that is creating a problem for them.

“The rate at which we are losing seasoned examiners if it is not stopped, WAEC will have a big challenge in delivering on quality examination for us as a country.”

The Ranking Member warned that the government’s failure to pay the over GH₵300 million debt in time could pose serious challenges to this year’s BECE, which is scheduled for next month.

“The BECE is coming on next month, and they need to prepare financially with resources to carry out their mandate.”

The start date for the 2024 BECE is July 8 through Friday, July 12, 2024. WASSCE is also expected to begin on July 1 and end on August 31, 2024.

Source: GNA

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