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The Second Vice Chairman for Suame Constituency of New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Richard Asante, has commended government for it’s decision to pay terminal examination fees for pupils in the public basic schools. The fees, he said, cover all pupils from lower primary, upper primary and Junior high school level. Mr Asante, speaking to the media, said the payment of examination fees for basic school will go a long way to help all pupils to take part in examination. “Most pupils in the public schools especially in the remote areas, can’t pay examination fees ranging from GH3.50 to GH5 and such fees prevent some pupils from writing examination” Mr Asante said. According to him, Nana Addo administration also pays registration for candidates of Basic Education Certificate Examination, (BECE) to the West African Examination Council (WAEC). Mr Asante, who is an Assistant Director of Education (ADE 1) under the Ghana Education Service (GES), described such decisions as historic since no government has taken such step to pay both terminal examination fees and BECE registration fees to help fulfill the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE). He described it as disgraceful the failure of Former President John Dramani Mahama, to introduce a single intervention to fulfil the FCUBE policy which is enshrined in the Constitution. “Under President John Agyekum Kufuor, school feeding, capitation grant and free tuition were introduced at the basic level, and President Nana Addo Danquah has also introduced Free examination and registration of BECE”. Mr Asante disclosed. Mr Asante described the speculations that GES has instructed basic school teachers to write this term’s examination questions on the chalkboard as false adding GES only instructed teachers not to levy pupils for examination fees since government has agreed to pay for parents. Source :broadcastergh.com /Ayisah Foster 
