Some Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates at Nyanikrom in the Shama District of the Western Region were on Monday morning left stranded after residents blocked the main road in protest over its poor condition, disrupting movement to examination centres on the first day.
A headmistress who spoke in an interview on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem said the situation came as a shock to school authorities and students who were preparing to sit for their first paper.
“We didn’t expect this. We were just looking forward to writing the exams, only for us to meet this situation,” she said.
She explained that efforts were being made to negotiate with the protesters to create a safe passage for the candidates.
“We are convincing them to get us an opening way so we can get the children to use and join the bus to the centre,” she noted, adding that the timing of the disruption was particularly worrying. This is not a pleasant situation considering that it is their first paper. We hope the children will not be late to the centre because of this situation,” she stated.
She further described the stress the candidates were going through, saying even the short distance to the centre had become difficult due to the blockade.
“The distance is not far but they cannot walk,” she said, adding that one student even fell into a gutter and soiled herself during the confusion. We had to help her clean herself,” she added.
Adom News’ correspondent, Papa Kwadwo Nunoo reported that the agitation stems from the poor state of the Nyanikrom Junction Road, which is about 3 kilometres long and has been in a deplorable condition for years despite repeated complaints.
A resident explained that although promises had been made, little progress had been seen.
“There are about five big companies in the area which could have helped construct the road, but nothing has been done,” one source said, adding that although a Municipal Chief Executive once cut sod for work to begin, “there is no machine or contractor on site.”
The Assemblyman for the area, Issah Abubakar, confirmed the tense situation, saying he had to plead with residents to open the road for the candidates.
“The road is in a bad state. I had to go on my knees and beg the residents to open the road for the students, but they didn’t listen,” he said.
He added that the situation escalated as residents burnt tyres despite the presence of police officers.
“There is police present but they are finding it difficult to control the situation because even when they remove the tyre, they still burn more,” he explained.
He assured that a first batch of candidates has already been transported to their examination centre, while arrangements are being made to move the remaining students once the situation stabilises.
Residents, however, insist the action is not a protest but a road blockade aimed at drawing urgent attention to their long-standing concerns over the poor road network.
The BECE is taking place in all 16 regions nationwide, with a total of 620,141 candidates from 20,395 schools expected to sit, comprising 304,349 boys and 315,792 girls.
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