By Ewoenam Kpodo, GNA
Aflao (VR), April 1, GNA – The Ketu South Municipal Education Directorate has started screening the eyes of candidates writing the 2024 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in July.
The motive is to give treatment to those with eye conditions before they sit for their examination.
The exercise had already seen about 150 of the candidates from Aflao Central and East Circuits screened on Good Friday.
Those in Klikor Circuit are expected to have theirs on April 5, Agbozume Central and East, April 12, then later, Adafienu and Hatsukope Circuits.
The eye screening exercise for the candidates was being organised by the Municipal Education Directorate in collaboration with the Eye Clinic of the Ketu South Municipal Hospital, Aflao.
Mrs Linda Dey Kordorwu, officer in charge of special needs at the Directorate, in an interview with Ghana News Agency (GNA), said suspicions that candidates might be having visual problems led to the initiative.
“I supervise candidates during their final examinations, and I see some of them struggling. At times, I see them bringing the question papers so close to their eyes while others just stare among others. I, therefore, suspected that some of the challenges candidates face might not be examination fever but due to different visual problems.
Consequently, the Directorate liaised with the Eye Clinic of the Municipal Hospital and they, as part of their social corporate responsibility programmes, agreed to come and screen our children just for a token and refer them for possible treatment if necessary.”
Mrs Kordorwu said follow-up actions by the Ketu South Directorate would depend on the diagnosis and recommendations resulting from the exercise and, that could include a formal report to West African Examination Council to have fonts of examination papers enlarged for those who might need it.
Miss Fortune Agbevivina, an ophthalmic nurse and in charge of the outreach team, said some candidates were diagnosed with minor vision problems, including refractive errors (impairment in the ability to see in both eyes – near and far), allergy and chalazion (swollen bump on the eyelid).
She noted there were others like glaucoma suspects, who would need to visit the hospital for further examination, saying that there were arrangements to link up with parents/guardians of those candidates identified with difficulty in reading and other minor problems, for treatment and correction prior to the start of the BECE.
Some of the candidates, who spoke to GNA, thanked the Directorate for the initiative while others said they suspected there could be something wrong with their vision thus, felt the need to subject themselves to the screening.
GNA