The Finance Ministry has allocated 80 million Ghana Cedis to the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) for the conduct of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), the Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, revealed to Parliament.
This comes after Bole-Bamboi MP Yusif Sulemana expressed worries over the government’s debt to the WAEC on the House floor.
Out of the GH₵95.83 million needed, WAEC had initially only received GH₵2.3 million. This led the council to request at least 50% of the total money to carry out the examination and additional funding to process and announce the findings.
The BECE is slated to take place in all of the nation’s centres from July 8 to July 15, 2024.
In a previous interview with Graphic, John Kapi, the Head of Public Relations at WAEC, voiced worries that if the funds weren’t given on time, the examination might not go as planned.
GH¢6 million had been processed through the Government Integrated Financial Management System (GIFMIS), he said, but it had not yet been converted into actual currency.
Frank Annoh-Dompreh, however, informed Parliament that WAEC had received GH₵80 million.
He said he had followed up on the issue and had got confirmation that the cash had been released from State Minister Abena Osei Asare.
“You brought up the matter regarding the release to WAEC for the administration of exams, and copies were sent to you by the esteemed ranking member. Following up, the Chief Whip and I spoke with State Minister Abena Osei Asare, who confirmed that a major release had been made after contacting the Ministry. We have been informed that 80 million has been released.