The coalition of Pre-tertiary teacher unions has called for the rescheduling of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The WASSCE has been scheduled to begin on March 30, 2020, and end on June 1, 2020, and BECE is supposed to start on June 15, 2020, and end on June 19, 2020.
The Executive Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers, Thomas Musah, spoke to Citi News on behalf of the coalition saying the average students and teachers faced too much risk on daily commutes to school, among others.
“To avoid all these challenges…we are asking that, to the extent that the BECE exams will be written in June, the candidates should be asked to go home at least for four weeks.”
He also urged the government to also explore the possibility of postponing the WASSCE alongside other West African countries.
“Regarding the WASSCE, because WASSCE is an international exam, President…can engage his colleagues within the West African space so they look at rescheduling their time tables to enable their students to also go home to protect lives and property,” Mr. Musah suggested.
This coalition is comprised of the Ghana National Association of Teachers, National Association of Graduate Teachers, Coalition of Concerned Teachers and the Teacher and Education Workers Union.
Shut down all schools until further notice – President Akufu-Addo
President Nana Akufo-Addo directed schools in the country to shut down effective Monday, March 16, 2020, during his second address to the nation on the novel coronavirus on Sunday, March 15, 2020.
The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the Ministry of Communication, has been tasked to roll out distance learning programmes in the meantime.
President Akufo-Addo, however, said students who will be taking part in this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) “will be allowed to attend school to prepare for their examinations, but with prescribed social distancing protocols.”
Ghana currently has seven novel coronavirus cases.
All these cases are said to be imported, according to health officials.
