Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity. I would like to take this opportunity to make a Statement on the Basic Education Certificate Examination which starts on the 4th and ends on the 8th of June, 2018.
Mr Speaker, the completion of basic education is actually the beginning of one's academic life. It is the assessment of a nine-year period of learning and the longest learning phase for an academic certificate.
It involves commitment, self-reliance, diligence and faith in God. However, there are challenges on the academic journey. The education sector is faced with some challenges such as the lack of ICT material. There has been previous reports of pupils using stones to represent the computer mouse.
It is based on such challenges in the sector that I congratulate all the candidates for their perseverance and commitment to pursue education. I will like to assure them that, as they sit to write the exams, we are behind them, cheering them to the finish line.
Mr Speaker, even though the West African Examinations Council has put in place mechanisms that are to prevent leakages, I will like to call on school management and candidates to refrain from indulging in examination mal- practices and rather engage their efforts in revising.
Mr Speaker, engaging in examination malpractices will nurture the habit of cheating and corruption in these young ones. They are the future of this country, and as such, our future Members of Parliament, doctors, teachers, architects and so on.
Mr Speaker, you will agree with me that Hon Members in this august House did not engage in such practices and that is why they bear the title “Honourable”. This is the virtue we want to see in our future leaders.
Mr Speaker, this year, a total of five hundred and nine thousand, eight hundred and twenty-four (509,824) candidates will be sitting for the exams, a significant increase of 8.9 per cent from last year.
The increasing numbers of candidates show that the Free Senior High School Programme by the Nana Akuffo Addo Government is a step in the right direction.
Mr Speaker, no one can deny the fact that an educated citizenry is one of the transformative catalyst that will usher a country into development, eradicate poverty and prevent ignorance.
Mr Speaker, education must not be the sole responsibility of the government. The support of parents is also necessary to achieve the success we want to see in these young ones. Parents must continue to play their part in the education of their children to complement the efforts of their teachers.
Mr Speaker, the contribution of teachers to ensuring quality education cannot be underestimated. And I will like to acknowledge and appreciate the commitment and efforts of teachers all over the country, especially those in rural
and deprived communities who are working to ensure that the Ghanaian child is educated. The menace of teenage pregnancies has been very worrying in recent years.
Mr Speaker, I believe with the combined efforts of school authorities, parents, relevant government institutions and all stakeholders in the education sector, this can be curbed or brought to its barest minimum, and this will surely be a great achievement for us all.
Mr Speaker, I will therefore take this opportunity again, to remind parents and their wards of the free and quality education policy of this government. The free education policy covers all expenses in not only the high schools, but also technical and vocational institutions.
Mr Speaker, I hereby encourage students to take advantage of technical and vocational education especially, those with very special talents and interests. They should not underestimate the relevance of the field.
Mr Speaker, at this point, I will like to wish all the candidates good luck in their exams and assure them of government's continuous support here and beyond. May they come out with flying colours and make us all proud.
Thank you once again, Mr Speaker, for this opportunity.
