Vindictive GES Pursues ‘JHS 1&2’ Students For Skipping Class To Write BECE

The Ghana Education Service (GES) is on the heels of some Junior High School (JHS) Form 1 and Form 2 students, who skipped class to write the just-ended Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in August, this year.

The service has apparently initiated processes to fish out all these JHS students to ostensibly punish them, though the practice of taking the exams at the first chance is not anything new.

In a letter, sighted by The Anchor, dated Monday, October 16, 2023, the GES directed all school heads in both the public and private schools to make available the names and academic records of these students.

“Management of the Ghana Education Service (GES) requests for the submission of names of absentees of Junior High School (public and private) Form One and Form Two (JHS &JHS2) students of 2022/2023 academic year from 7th to 11th August, 2023.

“Heads of Junior High Schools are directed to submit the names of JHS1 and JHS2 students who were absent from school from 7th to 11th August, 2023 of the 2022/2023 academic year to be accompanied by their class attendance registers for verification, their respective Metro/Municipal/District Directors of Education.

“Metro/ Municipal/ District Directors of Education are to compile and submit the names of students to the Director-General through their respective Regional Directors of Education by close of work on Wednesday, 18th October, 2023,” the statement, signed by Mr. Prince C. Agyemang-Duah, the Acting Director, Schools and Instructions Division, on behalf of the Director-General of the GES Dr. Eric Nkansah, said.

Additional information gathered from graphiconline also indicated that the GES also wants the record of attendance of all JHS 2 students in the 2021/2022 academic school year.

By this, this paper is learning the GES is tracking the 2021/2022 academic year’s attendance of the students who were involved in the examination two months ago.

Apparently, the statement, a copy of which is available to The Anchor, is sending shivers down the spines of these students.

They are surprised this is coming up, because it is something that has been going on for years and cannot understand why they would be victimized or be used as scapegoats.

In the past, many have written this examination and gotten admission to Senior High School (SHS) without waiting to write the BECE with their classmates.

The statement from the GES instructed that the data be submitted through the following email address: schoolsandinstructions@ges.gov.gh or WhatSapp number 0244981006.

It further instructed that regional directors communicate the above information to the various directors of education at the Metro, Municipal and District to inform all heads of JHSs to do the needful.

“By this letter, Regional Directors are kindly requested to communicate this information to the Metro/Municipal/District Directors of Education to inform all Heads of Junior High Schools and ensure that the data is submitted within the stipulated deadline,” the statement concluded.