The Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) for the 2020 academic year begin today at various examination centres across the country, and candidates have expressed preparedness to give their best despite the lack of adequate classroom work due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The BECE, which is usually written in the month of June each year, had to be delayed some four months due to the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus pandemic.
A candidate of Salem One JHS, Charity Lamley Lamptey, in an interview with the B&FT, indicated that the close-down of schools and extension in time-table from June to September was a blessing rather than a curse, as they used the period staying at home to review their notes and learn the topics they were not able to comprehend.
“I think I am very ready and so are my colleagues, because we used the lockdown period to review our notes avidly; and on return to school, our teachers also did their best by teaching us the examinable topics and guiding us on how to answer questions properly to get full marks. So, I am confident going into the exams,” she said.
Several other candidates also expressed similar feelings about their readiness to deliver excellent performances in the 2020 BECE.
The Science and ICT Teacher for Salem One JHS, Michael Enchills, narrated that teachers have done their best in preparing the candidates for exams before, after and even during the COVID-19 lockdown.
“When school resumed after the lockdown, we noticed that some of the students took good advantage of the period; but we also realised the challenge with those students who stay in homes without television to follow the online lessons, as well as those whose parents were not helping with their education. So we did peer-to-peer groupings to enable them to get the needed help from their colleagues.
“We cannot get a 100 percentage performance from all of them, but we are hopeful the majority will come out with flying colors,” he emphasised.
Per the schedule/time-table for the exams, two papers will be written each day from Monday 14th to Friday 18th September 2020. Candidates will write English Language and Religious & Moral Education (RME) today, and continue with Integrated Science, and Basic Design & Technology (BDT) on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, candidates sit for the Information & Communication Technology (ICT) and French papers respectively. This will be followed by Mathematics and Ghanaian Language & Culture on Thursday, and finally, conclude with Social Studies on Friday.
Over the years, BECE has been the means of selecting qualified students from the basic level of education to Senior High Schools (SHS) level in the country, and this year will be no different.
