Haruna Iddrisu Orders Urgent Reform of BECE Question Distribution
Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has directed the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to urgently overhaul the transportation and delivery of examination materials across the country, following disruptions at the start of this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
The directive follows an incident at the Boako M/A Basic School examination centre, where question papers failed to arrive on time on Monday, May 4. A total of 273 candidates from nine schools were left waiting, even as other centres nationwide had already commenced the examination.
By 9:15 am—15 minutes after the scheduled start—question papers had still not reached the centre. Although answer booklets had been distributed and supervisors were in place, the examination could not begin, while other centres had started roughly 15 minutes earlier.
The Minister, who visited the centre to assess the situation, described the lapse as avoidable and expressed concern over the breakdown in logistics.
“Ordinarily, candidates are supposed to be seated 15 minutes before the examination. However, I see answer sheets here without question papers. They are now on their way. We must therefore review the process of transporting examination questions to centres,” Mr Iddrisu said.
Addressing the GES Director-General, he stressed the urgency of reforms, noting the Director-General’s position on the WAEC Council as a key channel for driving change.
“Director-General, you sit on the WAEC Council, so we need immediate reforms,” he said.
Mr Iddrisu further emphasised that the current distribution system requires a comprehensive restructuring.
“WAEC has to change the way they do things,” he stated, warning that such delays could undermine the credibility and smooth conduct of national examinations.
“We have to review how exam questions are transported to the examination centres,” he added.
Despite the setback, the Minister encouraged the candidates, conveying support from the presidency.
“I’ve just come to wish you the best of luck on behalf of President Mahama,” he told the students.
Both GES and WAEC are yet to release an official statement on the incident or outline timelines for implementing the proposed reforms.
