A 19-year-old final year student of an unnamed school at Asante Mampong has lost the opportunity to write this year’s WASSCE after court remanded him for theft. Police will not name the suspect, but say he was arrested for stealing drugs from a chemical shop where he worked as a messenger, with the intention of using it to terminate his girlfriend's pregnancy. Mampong Divisional Police Commander, ACP Edward Oduro Kwarteng, told Nhyira News Naa Amerley the owner had made persistent reports of pilfering at the shop. He says the young man was put under police surveillance until he was arrested. In a related development, Over 372,826 candidates from about 10,000 Junior High Schools on Monday April 11, begin this year's Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) nationwide. Examination officials have deployed more than 1,000 invigilators for the exams. The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly is presenting the largest number of candidates. Seventy-six thousand, four hundred and ninety-two (76,492) candidates are expected to write the examination in the Ashanti region at 286 canters. Education Minister, Betty Mould Iddrisu led a team of educationists on Monday to monitor the exams at some selected canters in the Accra metropolis. Adom News toured some exam centers in Tema to find out the number of candidates sitting for the exams. At Twedease which is one of the centres in the Metropolis, a total number of 237 candidates are writing the exam with two pregnant girls. One of the pregnant girls defied the odds and sat for the exam. Mr. Frank Anyidoho who is the supervisor for the centre told Adom News that so far no logistical constraints have been recorded. In the Central Region, a total number of 38,610 candidates are sitting for the BECE. Out of this, 21,062 are boys whiles 17,495 are girls. Adom News’ Western Regional correspondent Okyeame Amoako Darkwah visited the Ghana Secondary Technical School in the Sekondi Takoradi Metropolis which is a centre made up of seven schools. Story by Akuamoah Boateng/Naa Amerley Nortey/Adom News