The Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Directorate of Education has ordered final year students of Junior High Schools (JHS) in the metropolis to sign an undertaking with their parents as witnesses to be of good behaviour until they write the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). Nana Kofi Adjei Mbeah, Metropolitan Director of Education told the Ghana News Agency in Takoradi Wednesday that the move was to check truancy among the students. He said reports had indicated that as soon as final year students of the JHS were registered for the BECE, a majority of them refused to attend classes but returned to write the papers when examination started. The Metropolitan Education Director noted that such acts of truancy impacted poorly on their performance as they deliberately refused to attend classes to learn what was ahead of them. He said parents and guardians should be held responsible for the continuous absence of their wards from school since it was their onerous duty to monitor students’ school attendance. To address the situation, the Education Directorate designed a form specifying detailed information about the students and their wards, which should be signed by students with the parents and guardians witnessing. For instance, the form bears information like name, profession, hometown of parents/guardians as well that of candidates and their date of birth, among other things. Nana Mbeah asked teachers and their heads to report any truancy for immediate action to be taken as contained in the declaration form. He reminded the head teachers not to register candidates from different schools or students in JHS One and Two or face severe sanctions by the GES. Nana Mbeah equally encouraged the head teachers to submit their register on time, warning that any delay and wrong submission of data would attract penalty by the West African Examinations Council (WEAC) and disciplinary action by the GES. The Metropolitan Education Directorate recorded a score of 62.49 per cent in the previous BECE, he stated.