Final year Junior High School (JHS) students preparing to sit for the 31st edition of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) scheduled to start on November 15, 2021, have been supported with free pens by DPS Group, a plastic manufacturing company in Tema.
The 350, 000 pens estimated to cost over GH130, 000 were presented to the Ghana Education Service (GES) for onward distribution to the candidates across the country.
Presenting the pens, Kwesi Poku Bosompem, Marketing Manager of DPS Group explained that the donation forms part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to compliment government’s tremendous investment in the education sector.
“We in DPS Group have introduced into the market two new pens, namely the DPS Classic pen and DPS Ultra pen.
The Ultra is point 7mm and the Classic is 1mm which are purely made in Ghana products. We have already embarked on an initiative dubbed ‘One-Pupil-One-Pen Project’ where we are giving pens to all pupils from primary 4 all the way to the Senior High School (SHS) level. In the Greater Accra Region, we have already done about 60 percent, Ashanti Region, 30 percent; we just started last week in the Volta Region which would be followed by the Eastern Region and others.
“We are giving these pens for free because of our Corporate Social Responsibility. We believe we must ensure that every child of school-going age that have been given an opportunity by their parents or the government to have education is helped in one way or the other. We are donating these 350, 000 to GES to be given to the candidates.
“DPS Group believes that for all the good education, good tuition given to the pupils, the final delivery is the pen. If the child goes to the exams hall and the pen does not write well-meaning all that has been done has gone to waste hence donating these special pens that write very well to the candidates to pass the BECE and pass well.
Commending the DPS Group for the kind gesture, Dr. Kwabena Bempah Tandoh, Deputy Director-General in charge of Quality and Access at GES, said, “The GES is very grateful to the DPS Group for donating the DPS ballpoint pens to the BECE candidates.
“Our discussion with the Director General revealed that DPS has also committed to give every teacher in the country two red pens and two blue pens in order to mark their exams papers and set questions and others. We are also happy that this is made in Ghana pen and doing this to support Ghanaian industries and support employment and shows our students that such beautiful and wonderful product can also be manufacture in our country.”
He was optimistic that the pens will go a long way to support the candidates and ensure that they will perform well in the upcoming BECE.
The 2021 edition of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) to be administered by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) will commence on Monday, November 15, 2021, to Friday, November 19, 2021.
According to the 2021 BECE for School timetable, candidates on Monday start the national examination with Social Studies and French Paper 1&2 and end it on Friday with Information Communication & Technology Paper 1&2.
The non-profit-making organization (WAEC) is yet to communicate the total number of final year Junior High School (JHS) students to participate in the forthcoming basic certificate examination to members of the public.
By Vincent Kubi