The Central Regional Minister, Ekow Panyin Eduamoa Okyere, is calling for an urgent policy shift to include BECE candidates in the National School Feeding Programme.
Speaking during a monitoring tour of examination centres, the Minister noted that hunger and poor food quality are affecting the performance and health of students during the week-long exercise.
The Minister expressed concern that since regular school cooking halts during the examination period, many candidates are left to fend for themselves.
This, he says, has already led to cases of students falling ill or vomiting right before their papers.
He therefore proposed a formal arrangement to provide at least one hot meal a day for BECE candidates at their examination centres.
He expressed concern, saying, “Sometimes we are not very sure of what they are eating from outside. Early morning today, we saw some already vomiting or whatever that may be because of what they ate. Some may not even have money to buy food before they come…We’ll appeal to the Minister of Education if that can be included in the school feeding activities, so that during examinations like this, people will be fed, at least one fourth meal a day.”
Beyond the welfare of the candidates, the Minister also addressed the integrity of the examination. He warned students to avoid bringing any foreign materials into the halls.
He also reminded invigilators to stick strictly to their roles as supervisors to prevent malpractices that could jeopardize the students’ results.
” If they have issues, they can only draw the attention of the mediator. They don’t have to talk to their colleagues because anything apart from that will amount to examination malpractice, which can affect them,” he continued.
The Minister plans to formally meet with the Minister of Education and the School Feeding Coordinator to push for this feeding arrangement to begin as early as next year.
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