GCE Board Spends 8m for Results Release by SMS

GCE Board Spends 8m for Results Release by SMS

The registrar of the Cameroon General Certificate of Education, GCE Board says the release of the 2013 session of the O/A Level Exams by SMSs was a supplementary measure to ease candidates' accessibility to the results.

The reaction of Sir Humphrey Ekema Monono came after scathing criticism on how the board allegedly 'connived' with a mobile telephone company, MTN to be precise to, 'extort' form Cameroonians.

While condemning the publication of the results on the internet, he told Cameroon Calling broadcast on National Radio, August 4, that the entire process cost the board some 8 million frs,CFA

Hear him: "When newspapers published the results, those who fail could not have access to their results to enable them prepare for the upcoming session. It reduced the cost of movements and accidents. At the time the candidates have access to their results using just the mobile phone, the said results and slips were already in their schools. The centers have the results," he said.

When questioned why the price per SMS stood at 150 frs CFA, the registrar said it was cheaper as compared to the price per a copy of a newspaper. "I don't know about the price of the SMSs (text messages) but it is below the price of a newspaper (sold at 400 cfa). The GCE board has never put the results of the GCE on the World Wide Web. The results of the candidates are private and should not be on the net," he argued.

Sir Monono described the release of the results through SMSs as very effective though he regretted delays in some cases due congestion on the network.He threw a veil as to who actually benefitted from the 'deal' between MTN and the GCE board.

He justified the withholding of the results of the Apostolic Secondary School in Nkwen, Bamenda by saying that some strange scripts were discovered in the school without any report indicating that writing material got finished enabling the officials to resort to using other material.

The GCE board boss said in some cases a single candidate was discovered having two scripts for the same during the marking exercise, and announced that the results of centers withheld would be released by August 8.

 

 

Solomon Amabo A.

Publisher, Eyewitness Newspaper
C'pondent, CNE Radio/TV, Los Angeles

Nat V.P. Council SNJC,
P.R.O. Camasej-D.

P.O.Box 4663, Douala,Cameroon
Tel: (+237) 74668899/ (+237) 95302043
Email: soloamabo@yahoo.co.uk
Skype : solomon.atanga