Sitting for the BECE examination

This year’s Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) began at all centres throughout the country yesterday. An official release indicates that 376,859 pupils from 11,164 public and private schools are battling it out over a one-week period.
As the name suggests, the 203,394 males and 173,465 females are being tested for the right to gain admission into the various senior high schools in the country. In effect, it is the first examination that opens the door for the onward climb of the education ladder. The Chronicle wishes all the candidates the best of luck.
Last year, as many as 200,000, out of a total of 372,826 candidates, failed to gain the qualification that would have enabled them to move forward in the academic arena. What this meant was that as many as 200,000 youth without any unemployable skills were dumped on the scrap heap of unemployment.
The Chronicle is of the view that such a large number of future leaders failing to gain admission to Senior High School should be of concern to the nation and its leaders. What is disturbing is that our kids have failed the basic test for quite a while now.
In 2009, 2010 and 2011, less than fifty percent of those who sat the basic examination, qualified for the transition to the senior high school level.
For a developing nation, the number of drop-outs is on the high side. We hope and pray that as our kids begin the 2012 examinations, they have been taken through the drill of preparing for the exams to enable them come out with flying colours.
In the rural communities, especially, lack of effective supervision means that most children preparing for the basic examination idle about instead of being serious with their books. Time was when lack of electricity in the rural setting, made it rather difficult for children to learn at night.
Strangely, when electricity was extended from the national grid to our towns and villages, our children do not exploit the light it offers in the night for their books. Without proper supervision, most of them frequent video shows and watch television late into the night.
The Chronicle is inviting opinion leaders and traditional rulers to ensure that school children idling about on the streets were discouraged from that practice. Our children are the future of this society. It is the responsibility of all of us to guide them to become responsible members of the community in the near future.
The Chronicle salutes all BECE candidates, and prays that they successfully negotiate all the corners in the examination. We wish all the candidates well!

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