BECE Question Papers Arrive Late: Education Minister Orders Urgent Overhaul of Exam Delivery System

Ghana’s Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, has ordered the Ghana Education Service to immediately review how examination question papers are transported to exam centres across the country, after a chaotic start to the Basic Education Certificate Examination on Monday.

The trouble began at the Boako examination centre, where question papers failed to arrive on time, throwing the start of the BECE into disarray. A total of 273 candidates drawn from nine schools were left sitting and waiting, answer booklets in front of them, but no questions to answer  while students at other centres had already begun writing their papers some 15 minutes earlier.

When Minister Iddrisu arrived at the centre and saw the situation for himself, he was clearly not pleased. He immediately directed the GES Director-General to work hand-in-hand with the West African Examinations Council to fix the logistics surrounding the delivery of examination materials  and to do so without delay.

“Ordinarily, candidates are supposed to be seated 15 minutes before the examination. However, I see answer sheets here without question papers. They are now on their way. We must therefore review the process of transporting examination questions to centres. Director-General, you sit on the WAEC Council, so we need immediate reforms,” the Minister said.

The incident has cast a spotlight on the reliability of Ghana’s examination logistics chain  a system that thousands of young students depend on at one of the most important moments of their academic lives. For the 273 candidates at Boako, Monday’s delay was more than an inconvenience. It was a disruption they did not deserve on the day of a high-stakes national examination.

Authorities are yet to explain what caused the delay, but the Minister’s directive makes clear that answers  and solutions are expected quickly.