The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has warned that it may have to postpone the next Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) owing to budgetary limitations.
WAEC’s Director of Public Affairs, John Kapi, estimates that the tests would cost around GH₵90 million to conduct.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Midday News on June 21, he indicated that although the test papers were printed, there were no money to distribute them and send WAEC staff to oversee the examinations, therefore the examination may be postponed till they got the funding.
“On our part, as I have said to the media over the last few days, we have managed go get bond paper to print our question papers. So all preliminary preparations have been done. What we need is to get money from the government and then we send our officers out there and conduct the examination.
“In view of that, we are afraid we might have to postpone the exam because there is no money anywhere for us to use for the examination,” he said.
He stated that the postponement will persist until the funds were granted, allowing the testing organization to carry out the tests.
Mr Kapi stated that the delay in transferring cash was unusual since WAEC “has never had to postpone any exam because of monetary issues, but as it stands, that is the only option.”
According to the Director of Public Affairs, despite attempts to persuade the government to allocate cash for its operations, the Ministry of Education has ignored their requests.
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Meanwhile, he recommended students preparing for the next BECE to continue their studies.
A week ago, John Kapi, said, “For BECE, we still have an outstanding payment of ₵698,500, and then for the 2024 examination, we expect a total amount of ₵95,837,306 from the government.”
The council obtained ₵2,284,618, but still needs ₵93,552,688 for the BECE.
He insisted that the $2 million received was insufficient for funding the examination.
The Minority minority on the Education Committee of Parliament initially addressed the matter this week, requesting a payment timeline from the administration.
Ranking Member on the Education Committee, Peter Nortsu-Kotoe, disclosed that he requested to the Chairman of the Education Committee that they convene a meeting with the Ministers of Finance and Education, as well as the national officer for WAEC, to design a strategy for releasing funding.
He stated that this will allow WAEC to conduct the BECE and guarantee that they had the financial means to carry out their duty.
