The Head of Public Affairs of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), John Kapi, has explained why the council imports 2B pencils for examinations.
Speaking on Badwam on Adom TV, he said the required quantities of the pencils are not readily available locally.
According to him, WAEC typically requires large volumes running into thousands, which local suppliers are unable to provide at once.
“You can’t get the 6,900 2B pencils at a go. That’s why we import them,” he said.
He noted that even when local suppliers are engaged, they often indicate that they would need to import the pencils to meet the demand.
John Kapi explained that 2B pencils are not commonly purchased in everyday activities, making it less attractive for local suppliers to stock them.
“2B type of pencil is not the type that people usually buy on a regular basis,” he added.
He further revealed that there are currently no local manufacturers producing 2B pencils in Ghana, with most of such products imported from countries like China and India.
“Right now, the issue is that the 2B pencil is not produced locally. There’s no local company that produces the 2B pencil. All the suppliers import them, and it’s mainly made in China or India,” he said.
He added that reliance on imports is therefore necessary to meet the specific requirements of standardised examinations.
