The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has awarded three national best students who excelled at the 2017 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The students: Jochebed Adwoa Sutherland and Audrey Emefa Awuttey from Holy Child School, Cape Coast, and Rachel Amaning Kwarteng of Aburi Girls’ Senior High School were adjudged best students in that order last year.
The Head of Ghana’s National Office of WAEC, Rev. S.N.N. Ollennu, said, “candidates who qualify for the awards compete at two levels – national and international. The candidates we are honouring today competed with their colleagues in all five WAEC member countries for the International Awards and the three took the first, second and third positions at the international level out of 1,880,666 candidates.”
The achievement, he explained, makes Ghana the proud recipient of all three prizes among WAEC member countries including Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
“The three candidates in the 2017 exams, met the eligibility criteria which is the minimum of eight (8) Grade ‘A1s’ for consideration for the awards and that makes their performances better than other candidates from other member countries.” Rev. Ollennu said.
Addressing dignitaries at the event, Minister of Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, congratulated the award winners and touted government’s Free Senior High School programme as the ultimate game changer which could transform the country’s educational landscape.
“The Free Senior High School Agenda has come to stay and it will greatly transform the sector, offering opportunity to all students to have a fair share of the educational system,” he said
Dr. Opoku Prempeh explained that in ensuring equity, public school students have been guaranteed 30 percent performance-based placement in elite Senior High Schools as means to ensure fairness.
The awards to the various students include, cash prizes, laptops medical care and fully funded educational support to the best student.
By Wisdom Jonny-Nuekpe