The Department of Children has expressed shock and worry about the number of pregnant girls and lactating teen mothers participating in this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in the Upper East region.
Of the 10,681 girls registered for the examination, 21 are pregnant and 17 are breastfeeding babies, from the statistics provided by the Upper East regional directorate of the Ghana Education Service (GES).
“I think it is not new; it happens every year. I was not surprised when I heard it. I was rather shocked because I had expected the number to go down because a lot of advocacy work had taken place not only from our department but from organisations that are into child protection,” the department’s regional director, Georgina Aberese-Ako, told Media Without Borders on Thursday.
“We do a lot of education on the consequences of teenage pregnancy on the girl in particular, but year in year out, it still happens— getting pregnant and going to write BECE.”
The director listed peer pressure, curiosity and poverty among the factors responsible for the yearly trend.
“Some see it as a fashion— because their friends got pregnant, they also feel like getting pregnant. And others, too, it’s out of ignorance. We are all aware that some girls cannot get access to some basic needs; so, they go into relationships with some boyfriends or what they call sugar daddies to supply them with whatever they want.
“When the person (the boyfriend or sugar daddy) asks for sex, they can’t deny him. Out of poverty, they have unprotected sex and end up getting pregnant in the process. But going forward, we cannot just throw our hands up in the air; we can still hope for our region. A lot of education is still going on,” she stated.
Bolgatanga MCE tells candidates how to answer exam questions
Before the 19,523 registered candidates were due to enter their various examination halls in the region on the first day, some got a pep talk in the regional capital from the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of the Bolgatanga, Roland Atanga Ayoo.
“When you enter, stay cool. Stay well-composed. You first answer the questions you know. Those that you doubt, answer them last.
“First answer the questions that you. Those that you are not very sure of…answer them last. But it’s our prayer and hope that God will be with you and you will write and come out with many As and Bs,” he told a batch of candidates at the Bolgatanga Technical Institute (BOTECH).
He also addressed candidates at two other centres in the municipality— Zamse Senior/Technical School (ZAMSTECH) and Bolgatanga Girls Senior High School (BOGISS)— in the company of the Upper East Regional Minister, Donatus Atanga Akamugri, and the Upper East Regional Director of Education, Alice Abeere-Inga.
“What we have for you here is that every one of you should not be afraid of exams. Exams [are] normal. It’s like what you have been doing in your schools. Don’t get afraid.
“When you are not afraid of what you are going to meet, that is 50% of answering the questions. So, when you are getting into the exam centre, take it [as] your classroom,” the regional minister said.
He also stressed a warning against examination malpractices, urging: “When you get inside, don’t giraffe (copy answers from others).”
There are 90 centres designated for the 2025 BECE in the region, with 589 public schools and 155 private schools taking part, according to the regional directorate.
Source: Edward Adeti/Media Without Borders/mwbonline.org/Ghana
