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2021 BECE begins smoothly
This year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) has started smoothly across the country.
Apart from the late start of the examination at a few centres in the Greater Accra Region, no major irregularity was recorded an hour into the examination.
A total of 571, 894 candidates are writing the examination from today, Monday, November 15, 2021, to Friday November 19, 2021 at 2,158 centres nationwide with a total of 20,124 invigilators, 2,158 supervisors and 1,853 assistant supervisors.
Mrs Agnes Teye-Cudjoe, Head of Public Affairs, West African Examinations Council’s National Office, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said the Council had put in place stringent security measures to prevent leakages in this year’s examinations.
She said officials of the National Intelligence Bureau monitored the production process – printing, sorting and packaging of the papers- and confident that there would be no leakages of the papers before and during the exams.
“The Council has also increased the number of depots storing confidential materials under strict surveillance to ensure that the papers did not leak before and during the examinations,” she said.
Mrs Teye-Cudjoe said all COVID-19 safety protocols would be observed during the examination, stressing that all candidates would be given hand sanitisers and that “should a candidate fall sick and a medical report is available, a committee will look into the situation and take a decision.”
A statement signed by Mrs Cassandra Twum Ampofo, the Head of Public Relations, Ghana Education Service, commended teachers, school heads, parents, and other stakeholders for preparing the candidates for the examination.
The statement entreated all stakeholders to desist from any form of examination malpractice.
It said details of the selection process for the Senior High School would be communicated in due course and wished all candidates success and good luck.
Mr Peter Korda, Head of Public Relations, Ghana National Association of Teachers, said they expected the BECE results to be better this year despite the long COVID-19 break.
He said teachers did their best to catch up with the curriculum after the 10-month break in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“COVID-19 pushed teachers to go the extra mile to adequately prepare students for the examinations through extra classes and online teaching and assignments,” he said.
He advised the candidates to adhere to rules and regulations of the exams.
Meanwhile, male candidates continue to dominate the examination with 287, 605 males writing this year’s examination as against 284, 289 females.
In 2020, out of a total of 531, 705 candidates, the females were 262, 286 against 269,419 males.
In 2019, out of 517, 331 candidates, there were 253, 729 females and 263, 602 males.
For 2018, the females were 246,529 against 263,295 males, totalling 509, 824.
The year 2017 was not different. A total of 226, 905 females wrote the examination against 241, 148 males.
The Ashanti Region, for a very long time, has been registering the highest number of candidates with males outnumbering the females.
In 2017, it had 47,702 males against 45,868 females. In 2018, the males were 54,487 as against 51,121. Similarly, there were 52,945 males and 51,516 females in 2019. A total of 54,025 males and 52,832 females in 2020. And in 2021, the males were 55,829 whereas the females were 55,603.
The case is different for Greater Accra Region, which records more females than males.
In this year’s examination, the Region (Greater Accra) registered 50,815 males and 54,824 females.
There were 45,172 males against 49,271 females in 2020.
Also, whereas 43,273 males were recorded in 2019, the females were 47,311.
In 2018, the male candidates stood at 42, 643 against 45,710 females.
The males in 2017 were 41,022 against 44,019 females.
Below is the regional breakdown for this year’s examination:
Eastern Region, 28,475 males, 27, 455 females.
Central Region, 31,954 males and 31,773 females.
Western and Western North Regions will have 29,718 males and 28,598.
The Bono, Ahafo and Bono East Regions registered 27,138 males against 26127 females.
A total of 21,871 males and 20,222 will represent the Volta and Oti Regions.
The Northern, North East and Savannah Regions will have 24,029 males and 20,809 females.
Upper East, 10,586 males and 11,530 females.
The Upper West Region, 7,290 males and 7,348 females. -GNA
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Focus on more pressing issues like Galamsey, not hate speech – Ellen Ama Daaku to Mahama
An aide to former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia,Ellen Ama Daaku has advised President John Dramani Mahama to shift his attention from social media hate speech to more urgent national issues such as illegal mining.
Speaking in an interview, she noted that the President’s recent comments about tracking the IP addresses of people who spread hate speech were unnecessary.
According to her, President Mahama must first define what he considers to be hate speech before seeking to punish people for it.
Ms. Daaku argued that the President himself had benefitted from hate speech and social media attacks in the past when he was in opposition.
She said even during his time in government, he described his opponents and their tribesmen in unpalatable terms, which later drew complaints from former President Nana Akufo-Addo to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
She stressed that harsh criticism of leaders on social media should not automatically be considered hate speech, adding that former leaders, including former President Nana Akufo-Addo had all been subjected to it.
“He is only feeling what Nana Akufo-Addo went through for eight years,” she remarked.
While acknowledging the need to regulate misconduct online, Ms. Daaku insisted that going after social media activists should not be a priority.
She noted that many political activists, including herself, had been insulted and attacked online but never called for arrests.
She concluded that President Mahama should focus his energy on solving pressing problems such as galamsey and the economy instead of concentrating on critics on social media.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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Prof Alidu Seidu files nomination for Tamale Central seat
The newly elected parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Tamale Central, Prof Alidu Seidu, has submitted his nomination forms to the Electoral Commission.
As of 10:00 a.m. today, he was the only person who had filed to contest the seat.
Nomination of candidates will close at the end of the day.
Associate Professor and Head of the Political Science Department at the University of Ghana Legon, Prof. Alidu Seidu won the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primaries in the Tamale Central constituency with a landslide victory.
The elections, supervised by the party’s Elections and IT Directorate in the Northern Region, saw Prof. Seidu poll 840 votes out of the total valid ballots cast.
His closest contender, Lawyer Hanan Gundadow Abdul-Rahaman, secured 536 votes.
The other aspirants could not make significant gains, with Dr. Seidu Fiter obtaining 44 votes, Aliu Abdul-Hamid 23 votes, and the rest recording fewer than 10 votes each.
In all, 1,500 ballots were cast, with 6 ballots rejected and 7 spoilt ballots recorded.
The results were signed and declared by Dr. Arnold Mashud Abukari, NDC Northern Regional Director of Elections and IT.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) held parliamentary primaries in Tamale Central to choose a candidate for the upcoming by-election following the death of the sitting Member of Parliament, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed. Dr. Mohammed, who also served as Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, tragically died in a military helicopter crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District on August 6, 2025, alongside seven others.
His passing left the Tamale Central seat vacant, as required by Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
The Electoral Commission has scheduled the by-election for September 30, 2025. While the NDC moved quickly to open nominations and vet aspirants, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) announced it would not contest the seat, citing the need to respect the somber circumstances and promote national unity.
By: Jacob Aggrey
