For the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), the government has paid the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) GH55 million.
According to Ms. Winifred Ampiaw, the Public Relations Officer for WAEC, the funds received so far for BECE and WASSCE total GH10.5 million and GH40 million, respectively.
The payment was made as a result of concerns expressed by the minority in Parliament regarding the unpaid debts to WAEC.
Peter Nortsu-Kotoe, the Minority Spokesperson on Education, expressed grave concern over WAEC’s pressing requirement for more than GH50 million to meet its financial obligations and guarantee the orderly organization of the upcoming 2023 examinations.
He referred to the government’s failure to release funds for compensating people who provided their services during the 2022 WASSCE as one of the current challenges faced by WAEC.
This covers compensation due to managers, invigilators, examiners, and other staff members who assisted with the exam.
Winifred Ampiaw provided a breakdown of the funds in an interview with Citi FM in Accra, “We have received some amount of money that will enable us to conduct the exams, for both WASSCE and BECE. However, there’s a payment plan to pay the rest. So far we have received GH¢10.5 million to be able to conduct BECE, and for WASSCE, we have received GH¢40 million. This amount will enable us to take care of the pre-exams activities and the conduct of the exams itself. We’ve received GH¢55 million in total received, I know for a fact that we have received the money.”
“The payment is for this year’s exams, we are supposed to spend a rough estimate of GH¢18 million for BECE. For WASSCE, the total cost for just the pre and the conduct of the main will take us to GH¢63.5 million. We are left with about GH¢7.5 million. However, I want to assure the public that yes, we are in the position to conduct both exams for this year,” she added.
