Government has paid GH¢55 million in arrears owed to WAEC. This payment was confirmed in an interview with Citi FM on July 27, 2023, according to the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC), Winifred Ampiaw.

The received funds, which amount to GH¢10.5 million for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and GH¢40 million for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), will be used to facilitate the organization of both exams this year.

The total budget allocated for the BECE and WASSCE for this year is approximately GH¢18 million and GH¢63.5 million, respectively, leaving around GH¢7.5 million in remaining funds after the received payment.

Ms. Ampiaw assured the public that the amount received from the government is sufficient to successfully carry out both exams. WAEC has already put necessary resources in place for the smooth execution of these examinations as planned.

“I can say that we have received some amount of money that will enable us to conduct the exams, for both WASSCE and BECE.

“However, there’s a payment plan to pay the rest. So far we have received GH¢10.5 million to be able to conduct BECE, and for WASSCE, we have received GH¢40 million.

“This amount will enable us to take care of the pre-exams activities and the conduct of the exams itself. We’ve received GH¢55 million in total, I know for a fact that we have received the money”.

“The payment is for this year’s exams, we are supposed to spend a rough estimate of GH¢18 million for BECE.

“For WASSCE, the total cost for just the pre and the conduct of the main will take us to GH¢63.5 million. We are left with about GH¢7.5 million.

“However, I want to assure the public that yes, we are in the position to conduct both exams for this year,” she stressed.

The Minority in Parliament has issued a warning regarding the 2023 WASSCE and BECE examinations, expressing concerns that these exams could face setbacks if the government does not settle its arrears owed to the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC).

During a media briefing in Parliament, Peter Nortsu-Kotoe, the Minority Spokesperson on Education, stated that WAEC requires approximately GH₵‎50 million to clear its outstanding debts. He pointed out that in the previous year, the government managed to pay only GH₵‎50 million out of the GH₵‎83 million owed to WAEC, which was meant to address the arrears for the 2020/2021 period.

“Now the examinations are about to start again or they have even started with the orals and practicals and the WAEC is not having money to pay for last year’s services. If care is not taken, the persons or the teachers who gave us the service may not be ready to provide services again as supervisors and invigilators.”

But responding to the Minority’s claims, Deputy Education Minister, Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, affirmed that the government is actively working to fulfill the outstanding financial requirements to support WAEC in conducting the exams without any disruptions.