The Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), which marks a significant turning point in Ghana’s educational system and sends pupils from junior high schools to senior high schools and technical institutions, is being taken this year by thirty-four prisoners.
All of the candidates are male and come from three different prisons: Sunyani Central Prison, Nsawam Maximum Security Prison, and 27 juvenile offenders from the Senior Correctional Centre (SCC).
In an interview, DSP Loretta Valentina Amoah, the Ghana Prisons Service’s Greater Accra Regional Public Relations Officer, revealed that the detainees have received extensive preparation from certified, experienced educators from both the Ghana Education Service and the Correctional Service.
DSP Valentina Amoah did, however, also draw attention to the difficulties encountered during the preparatory phase, such as the lack of appropriate teaching and learning resources.
These impediments prevent the prisoners from completely improving their intellectual capacities.
She pleaded with the public to help the prisoners—especially the young ones—by giving them textbooks and practice exams to improve their education.
During the interviews, it became evident that a significant number of the prisoner candidates were confident and prepared. They conveyed great expectations for doing well in this year’s BECE and thanked their teachers for their meticulous preparation.
The prisoners’ eagerness and devotion show how committed they are to maximising this educational opportunity.
In 2009, the first group of prisoners—21 adolescents and young offenders—took the BECE and passed with an astounding 100% pass rate.
They have continued to uphold this stellar record ever since. The BECE was administered to 51 prisoners nationwide last year, and all 51 of them passed, proving the value of the educational initiatives implemented in prisons.
