EducationSOCIAL DEV'T NEWS

Absorb BECE Registration Fee for all Basic School Pupils, Green Coast Group and Consult Limited Appeal to President

The Eastern and Volta Regional agent for the Green Coast Group and Consult Limited, Mr. Kwame Daniel Matey also known in as Preacher, has called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to reconsider his decision, and pay the West African Examination Council’s registration fee for both public and private candidates.

Government has announced to pay the full cost of Ghc 75.00 for the 2018 BECE registration for pupils in the public Junior High School across the country.

Mr. Kwame Daniel who educates listeners of Rite FM’s Community Watch, social advocacy talk programme on health and job security said, “all the children are Ghanaians, and I plead on president to absorb the registration fee for the private candidates too. They are all Ghanaian children.”

He further said the plea when heard will be historic to the regime of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo since it will the first time in the country’s history.

“The reason the president should accept the call is that, it’s going to be the first time ever and will be history to Nana Addo’s leadership,” he told Community Watch host, Omanba Kodwo Boafo.

Government absorbed 70 percent of the 2017 BECE registration fees as subsidies for all registered candidates in both public and private junior High Schools. However, the Minister of Finance, Hon. Ken Ofori Atta in the last budget statement presented to parliament 15 November, 2017 reaffirmed earlier release by the Ghana Education Service saying, “in 2018, government will absorb 100 percent BECE registration fees for registered candidates from public Junior High Schools.”

A school of thought says the decision is an unlawful and hence discrimination against children, which is a violation of section 3 of children’s act (Act 560).

Act 560 section 3 states, “no person shall discriminate against a child on the grounds of gender, race, age, religion, disability, health status, custom, ethnic origin, rural or urban background, birth or other status, socio-economic status or because the child is a refugee.”

Meanwhile, the act defined a child as a person below the age of eighteen years.

Has the Government Discriminate?

Article 17 (3) of the 1992 constitution defines discrimination as “giving different treatment to different persons attributable only or mainly to their respective descriptions by race, place of origin, political opinions, colour, gender, occupation, religion or creed, whereby persons of one description are subjected to disabilities or restrictions to which persons of another descriptions are not made subjects or are granted privileges or advantages which are not granted to persons of another descriptions.”

Source: Omanba Kodwo Boafo/ritefmonline.org/omanbaboafo84@gmail.com

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