By Evans Worlanyo, GNA
Keta, (VR), May 8, GNA-Parents in the Keta Municipality of the Volta Region have thrown their full support behind Mr Kofi Asare, the Executive Director of Africa Education watch for the proposals to restructure the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) schedule.
The current form of BECE structure and practice were described as a psychological torture for candidates who write 10 subjects within five days which also created an unbearable burden that inflicts undue physical stress on young and developing minds.
Madam Aku Dzivenu, a parent at Keta, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, expressed strong agreement with EduWatch’s characterisation of the examination schedule as torture, and stated that the current arrangement places enormous and unreasonable pressure on Junior High School candidates.
“These young ones are still at a formative stage of their cognitive and emotional development; many of them are ill-equipped to handle such an intense and grueling examination schedule and pressure within such a compressed timeframe,” she said.
She noted that the situation has raised serious concerns about the BECE examination timetable and described the scheduling of 10 subjects within five days as torturous for young candidates, and called on the GES and the WAEC to urgently review and restructure the timetable to give students adequate time to prepare, rest, and perform to the best of their abilities.
Madam Dzivenu further argued that students at the university level, who possess far more advanced cognitive abilities, critical thinking skills, and emotional maturity, are not subjected to writing two papers in a single day or more than three subjects within a single week, which made it more unreasonable and indefensible to subject young Basic School candidates to such an overwhelming examination workload within just five days.
“If university students with all their experience and maturity are not made to write two papers in a day, why should we subject our young JHS children to 10 subjects in five days, this is not examination, this is punishment.”
She explained that the current BECE timetable did not only undermined the academic performance of candidates but also poses serious risks to their mental and physical health with many students reportedly suffering from examination anxiety, fatigue, sleep deprivation, and in extreme cases, complete mental exhaustion by the time they sit their final papers which negatively impact their ability to perform optimally.
Mr Jonas Abbey Asimenu, another parent, appealed on the GES, WAEC and the Ministry of Education to immediately constitute a broad-based consultative committee to engage educators, parents, child psychologists, and student representatives to holistically review the BECE examination structure.
He said that the move would help develop a more humane, child-friendly, and educationally sound timetable that prioritises the wellbeing and best interests of young candidates.
Several parents also pointed out that the intense pressure associated with the current BECE schedules contributed significantly to examination malpractice, with overwhelming sheer volume of subjects students were required to cover within a short period, with the temptation of cheating as a means of coping with pressure they cannot manage through legitimate preparations.
They said the calls for a restructuring of the BECE examination schedule come at a critical time when national conversations around the quality, relevance, and fairness of education system are intensifying, with educators, parents, civil society groups, and education experts increasingly united in their demand for a more progressive, student-centred, and developmentally appropriate approach to examining young candidates at the basic school level.
Meanwhile, the 2026 edition of BECE commenced on Monday, May 3, and expected to end on May 11.
GNA
Edited by: Maxwell Awumah/Kenneth Odeng Adade