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Ghana will revert to writing WASSCE in May/June – GES Director-General

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WASSCE

Professor Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, The Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), has announced that Ghana will revert to writing the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in May/June of 2024.

He said Ghana is considering scheduling the timetable for the examination of 2024 based on contact hours in the classroom adding that this year’s WASSCE will be written by Ghana alone.

Four-member countries of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) — Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia — have returned to the May/June calendar and administered the WASSCE for their school candidates from May 9 to June 24, 2022.

He said “We are hoping that by 2024, we would have come up to the same level with the other member countries.

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“That is why we said this year the calendar that we put out was a transitional calendar. We are transiting to go back to our old calendar when we start school from September/October and end in June/July the following year.”

According to Prof. Opoku-Amankwa, the 2022 WASSCE candidates would write the examination from August 1 to September 27, 2022, while “for 2023, we hope to write the examination a bit earlier than this year, most likely July/August.” Prof Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa Prof Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa

Amankwah explained that Ghana made a case that returning to the May/June calendar immediately would amount to disadvantaging the candidates “because they would not have met the 1,134 contact hours.”

“So we made a case to WAEC, the issue was considered at the international level and they agreed that we write our examination outside of the others,” he stated.

“But just as the May/June and the Nov/Dec examinations are both standardised and the award systems and the processes that they go through are the same, so is our August/September WASSCE an international WASSCE examination, the only difference being that the period when it is written is different from that of the other countries.

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“We believe that our insistence on contact hours is a major contributor to the performance of our students in the WASSCE so far because we make sure that they get the fullest. In the past, they were doing about 1,080 contact hours in a year, but now they do 1,134 in a year and that, we believe, has contributed to their performance,” Prof. Amankwa noted.

“What we realised in the past with those rogue websites was that even though we tried as much as possible to start the papers at the same time, because of time differences, some countries might start slightly earlier than others and so some of those rogue website operators took advantage of that,” he explained.

By Kojo Emmanuel

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Justin Kodua Frimpong files nomination to seek re-election as NPP General Secretary

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General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Justin Kodua Frimpong, has filed his nomination to contest the position of General Secretary again as the party begins its rebuilding efforts ahead of the 2028 general elections.

He was accompanied by party stalwarts and supporters who were in high spirits, expressing confidence that he is the right person to hold the position.

Speaking after filing his nomination, Mr Kodua Frimpong assured the rank and file of the party that he would not disappoint them.

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“I can assure you that the faith the rank and file of the party have had in me, I will never disappoint them,” he said.

He also pledged to run a clean campaign devoid of personal attacks.

“I can assure you that our internal campaign will be devoid of personal attacks,” he told his fellow contestants and the rank and file of the party as he seeks to retain his position.

His tenure has seen the party through the 2024 general elections, where the NPP lost power to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) after eight years in government.

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The party is currently in a rebuilding phase, with internal elections scheduled to elect new national executives to lead its reorganization towards the 2028 polls.

The General Secretary position is considered one of the most influential in the party’s administrative structure, responsible for the day-to-day running of the party secretariat and implementation of party decisions.

By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme

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UGMC disputes Michael Blackson’s claims over late mother’s treatment

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The University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) has disputed claims made on social media by comedian Michael Blackson concerning the treatment given to his late mother, saying a review found that the allegations did not accurately reflect what happened during her stay at the hospital.

In a statement issued in Accra on August 5, 2026, the management of UGMC expressed condolences to Mr. Blackson and his family over the death of his 83-year-old mother, who died at the facility on July 16, 2026.

The hospital said it had taken the concerns raised by Mr. Blackson seriously and conducted a thorough review in line with its clinical and administrative procedures.

According to the statement, the facts presented by Mr. Blackson on social media contained “numerous inaccuracies” and did not accurately reflect the medical care provided to his mother.

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UGMC explained that she was referred to the facility from another hospital and received treatment there from May 27 to July 16, 2026, a period of about eight weeks.

The hospital stated that it would not release details of her diagnosis, treatment, medical records or other aspects of her care because it had a duty to protect patient confidentiality, even after death.

It said the decision was intended to respect the dignity of the deceased and the privacy of her family.

UGMC further stated that all clinical decisions at the facility are made by qualified healthcare professionals based on medical judgment, established standards of care and the best interests of the patient.

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The statement added that such decisions are made in consultation with authorised family representatives where necessary and that billing and financial procedures are governed by institutional policies and are separate from clinical decision-making.

The hospital noted that it values feedback from patients and their families and considers both positive and negative comments important for improving the quality of care.

Mr. Blackson had earlier used social media to criticise the care his mother received at UGMC, prompting the hospital’s response.

By: Jacob Aggrey

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