Some Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) sitting for the 2026 exams have been left stranded following a road protest by Shama-Nyankrom residents.
Reports suggest the Shama-Nyankrom residents blocked the road in protest over its poor condition.
According to reports, the demonstrators blocked the main road in the town by burning car tyres and mounting barricades, disrupting movement in the area for hours.
The protest is said to have disrupted industrial transport, and candidates sitting for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), with candidates and their teachers, were left stranded and unable to reach their examination centres.
Speaking in an interview on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem programme, a headmistress of one of the schools in the area stated, We didn’t expect this. We were just looking forward to writing the exams, only to be confronted with this situation”.
“We are pleading with them to create an opening so the children can pass and join the bus to the centre. This is not a pleasant situation, especially as it is their first paper. We hope the children will not be late to the centre because of this,” she decried.
“The distance is not far, but they cannot walk,” she said, adding that one student fell into a gutter during the confusion and soiled herself.
Also, the Assemblyman for the area, Issah Abubakar, confirmed the incident, stating, “The road is in a very bad state. I even went on my knees to beg them to allow the students to pass, but they refused”.
“Even when the police remove the burning tyres, the protesters bring more and set them ablaze,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination begins today, Monday, May 4, with over 620,000 candidates across Ghana sitting for the exams.
The exams conducted by the West African Examinations Council will run until May 11, with 620,141 candidates from 20,395 schools set to participate.
The exam officials have disclosed that they have tightened measures to curb malpractice, taking a firm stance against examination malpractice.
According to the exam’s official, any candidate found in possession of prohibited materials, including mobile phones, will not be tolerated.
An official stated, “Candidates found engaging in any form of malpractice will face severe sanctions”.
Of the 620,000 candidates, 304,349 are boys, and 315,792 are girls, with the 2026 BECE candidate increasing by 16,813 candidates, or 2.7%, compared to the 2025 BECE 603,328 candidates.
