Parents and guardians whose wards are writing the 2019 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) should provide them with raincoats to facilitate their movement to the respective examination centres in the event of rainfall.

“We are in the rainy season and to make things easier for the candidates, it is advisable for them to be given raincoats as they commuted to the examination centres”, Mr. Osei Assibey-Antwi, the Mayor of Kumasi, observed.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after he toured some BECE centres in the Metropolis on Monday, the Mayor indicated that the examination was a defining moment for the candidates and any impediment on their ways ought to be dealt with accordingly.

The writing of the BECE began nationwide today but candidates in the city had to defy rain showers which began at dawn and continued throughout the day till about 4pm, to write the examination.

A total of 23, 390 candidates registered to write the 2019BECE in the Kumasi metropolis, comprising 11, 106 boys and 12, 284 girls.

The figure falls short of last year’s which was 24, 513, and made up of 11, 690 boy and 12, 823 girls.

This year’s exams saw 189 public and 347 private schools participating at the 88 centres.

State Experimental Basic School, Saint Hubert Seminary, Kumasi Secondary Technical Institute (KSTI) and Opoku Ware School, were some of the centres visited by the Mayor.

Mr. Assibey-Antwi urged supervisors at the various BECE centres to endeavour to create a harmonious atmosphere for the candidates to write the exams successfully.

“You should not turn away pregnant candidates or intimidate other candidates for whatever reason,” he stated, stressing that pregnant candidates had the right to write the exams.

The Mayor reminded the candidates of the need to be law-abiding, refraining from actions that had the tendency to spell doom for them.

The Mayor was accompanied by Ms. Martha Owusu-Agyemang, the Metropolitan Director of Education.