Peter Nortsu-Kotoe, the Minority Spokesperson on Education, has raised concerns about the adverse impact of the Ghanaian government’s indebtedness to the West African Examination Council (WAEC) on the organization’s operations.

Despite the release of both the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results, WAEC has allegedly not paid invigilators, examiners, and other service providers, according to Nortsu-Kotoe.

During a parliamentary session, Nortsu-Kotoe revealed that discussions with the Finance Ministry, the Education Ministry, and WAEC indicated that funds had been released by the Finance Ministry to the Education Ministry for settling the debt. However, the Finance Ministry denied owing the specified amount claimed by WAEC.

In response, Nortsu-Kotoe urged the Education Ministry to promptly clear the debt, especially following the approval of GH₵29.5 billion for the Ministry’s 2024 expenditures.

He stated, “The committee has directed that the Minister for Finance or his representative, the Minister for Education, and WAEC should meet the committee to resolve the matter. The one who represented the Ministry of Finance at the meeting indicated that for the WASSCE, they made it part of the amount released for the free SHS, so on record, they do not owe WAEC any sums of money. So we need to meet the Minister of Education, the Minister for Finance, and WAEC to resolve the problem immediately.”

Nortsu-Kotoe also disclosed that Education Minister Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum confirmed to the Education Committee of Parliament that a piece of land reserved for building a UNESCO office in Accra had been sold to a private developer. The Minister expressed his commitment to reclaim the land for the Ministry of Education to benefit UNESCO.