This year's Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) has taken off smoothly in the Ablekuma North Municipality.
A total of 2,658 candidates are sitting for the examination in 12 centres with candidates from 80 schools comprising 13 public schools and sixty -seven private ones.
As an annual ritual, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Hon. Kofi Ofori, and assembly officials conducted a monitoring exercise to selected schools to offer them moral support and encouragement.
The three schools visited included Saleria Cluster A&B Basic School, St. Stephen Basic School, and Darkuman North Presby Basic School.
Accompanying the MCE were the Municipal Education Director, Mr. Ebenezer Perry Ofori, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ablekuma North, Hon. Sheila Bartels, the Municipal Coordinating Director, Mrs. Vera Akuffo-Mante, Government Appointee, Mrs. Joyce Acheampong, and the Municipal Information Officer, Madam Mercy Asante.
Interacting with the candidates, Mr. Ofori advised the candidates to have confidence in themselves and the assurance that what they have learned over the period would come in handy.
He said once they excel at the examinations, they could take full advantage of the Free Senior High School (SHS), adding that they have no cause to worry over financial impediments with that endeavor.
Mr. Ofori said he has ample faith in the ability of the candidates to bank on the sound record of the municipality.
In an interview, he said he hoped the candidates would outperform their predecessors who acquitted themselves equally well.
On sustainable measures undertaken to improve the fortunes of education in the municipality, he said the assembly in a joint effort with the MP for the area was to supply two hundred bags of cement to specific schools in the municipality for infrastructure development of which one hundred have been supplied upfront by the MP.
Mr. Ofori said the assembly in collaboration with the MP would continue in their unwavering commitment to prioritize the educational needs of the municipality towards desirable outcomes.
He urged parents to rest assured their children would come out with good grades to secure entry to the Free SHS which is no longer a parental burden.
The MP for the area, Hon. Bartels appreciated the committed effort of teachers in preparing the candidates over the years for the examination.
She commended the Municipal Education Directorate for the impactful programs to improve the lot of teachers and pupils alike which would be helpful to the candidates.
She said her focus was to continue to offer a variety of support initiatives for the pupils once they pass out to attend Senior High School.
In efforts to put education on a sound footing about modernity, she said coming from an Information Technology background, she was embarking on a digital project for schools in the municipality starting with 'Smart Classrooms', to enable the children to have early access to information technology.
She said a modern library with digital integration was also being set up where children could access information globally anytime to promote learning activities.
On her part, Mr. Perry Ofori commended the effort of the assembly for being responsive to the educational needs of the area despite resource constraints. Still, he prevailed on the assembly to go the extra mile to mitigate the few challenges that exist.
