The Builsa South Member of Parliament, Dr. Clement Apaak, has expressed concerns about the West African Examination Council (WAEC) facing challenges in marking and grading the 2023 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) if the government doesn't settle its outstanding GH¢55 million debt to the examination body.

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Dr. Apaak was surprised to learn that out of the total GH¢70 million owed to WAEC, the government had only paid GH¢10.5 million.

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He stressed that this delay in debt payment could disrupt WAEC's essential functions.

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During an interview with the media on August 7, 2023, Dr. Clement Apaak urgently called on the government to promptly clear the debt owed WAEC.

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“ It comes to us as a shock and surprise that WAEC is now telling us that contrary to what the government had indicated, only a paltry GH¢10.5 million out of about GH¢70 million has been provided.

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“So we will like to call on the government to immediately make the resources available to WAEC because if that does not happen after the papers have been written, they wouldn’t be marked and they wouldn’t be graded. This is a very dire situation that calls for urgent attention,” he said according to 3news.com.

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He emphasized that the papers written may not be marked or graded if the resources are not provided in a timely manner, highlighting the seriousness of the situation.

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According to John Kapi, the Head of Public Affairs at WAEC, the government has paid GH¢10.5 million out of the total debt, but there are still outstanding arrears for the years 2021 and 2022. While the printing for the ongoing BECE has been covered, further processes such as marking and finalizing results will require additional funds.

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The situation underscores the importance of resolving the financial matters promptly to ensure the smooth operation of the examination process and to avoid potential disruptions.

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“So far for BECE 2021 and 2022, yes we have received the arrears but for this year 2023, we received about GH¢10.5 million which is 15 percent of the total payment due. So obviously there are still some arrears that should be settled. They promise of course that they are going to send some money to us so we are waiting.

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“So far what we’ve been able to do is the printing for what we are conducting. But for the marking and final processing of the result, we will have to get some more money otherwise sections of the process will suffer,” 3news.com quoted him as having said.

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