A teenage girl taking part in the 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) has delivered a baby while writing one of her exam papers at a centre in the Ashanti Region.
The incident occurred on Wednesday (11 June) at the Presbyterian Primary School centre in Asenua, one of the examination centres serving the Kwabre East District.
Local education authorities said the student had already written her Social Studies paper and was sitting for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) paper when she began experiencing labour pains.
“The girl requested to visit the washroom, a right afforded to candidates under exam conditions, and was escorted by a police officer assigned to the centre. The officer reportedly became suspicious of her condition and raised an alarm”, an official said.
“The girl was clearly in distress. She was immediately taken to the headmaster’s office where emergency support was summoned”, the officer noted.
The teenager delivered a baby boy shortly after, before being transferred to Victory Hospital in the district for further medical attention. Both mother and baby are said to be in stable condition.
Teachers at the school have reportedly indicated their willingness to support the young mother to complete her remaining examination papers.
A total of 120,285 candidates are expected to take part in this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) at 432 designated centres in the Ashanti region.
The figure represents 20% of that of the national one,with 59,999 male and 60,286 female candidates. Five candidates drawn from the Kumasi Central Prisons are also sitting this year’s exams.