Two final-year students left home last night to check their index numbers for their Monday morning  BECE but met a tragic death.

Dauda Satahya and  Abdul Wahab Zulaiha, students of Chogu Demonstration School in Sagnarigu District were riding on their motorbikes to TAMASCO when the accident occurred.

The BECE is the first huddle in Ghana's Educational System for students in the Junior High School level. The 5-day exam began Monday with an English paper and will end Friday with an ICT paper

But not with the participation of the two girls.

One died instantly and the other died on arrival at the Tamale Teaching Hospital.

Joy News Northern regional correspondent Martina Bugri reported, students of the school have been plunged into mourning. The teachers had a hard time psyching up the distraught students.

BECE stats

In all, 422,946 candidates (223,765 males and 199,181 females) from both private and public schools are writing the week-long exam, starting with English Language and Religious and Moral Education.

This year’s exams comprise about 12,562 schools nationwide and be written at 1,437 centres. Ashanti Region is presenting 83,859 candidates, the highest this year. They comprise 43,326 males and 40,533 females.

The Greater Accra Region follows the Ashanti Region with 74,139 candidates (36,159 males and 37,980 females) while the Central Region comes third with 43,921 candidates (23,203 males and 20,718 females).

The Northern Region has the fourth-highest number of candidates of 43,694, (20,244 males and 14,450 males). The Western Region is presenting 41,991 candidates, comprising 22,475 males and 19,516 females, while the Eastern Region has 41,522 candidates made up of 22,212 males and 19,310 females.

The Brong Ahafo Region has 39,573 candidates (21,645 males and 17,928 females) with the Volta Region providing 31,866 candidates (18,049 males and 13,817 females).

The Upper East Region will be presenting 19,009 candidates (9,759 males and 9,250 females) with the Upper West Region presenting 12,372 candidates (6,693 males and 5,679 females).

A statement issued by the Minister of Education, Prof. Naana Opoku Agyeman, urged all candidates to conduct themselves properly in accordance with the rules and regulations governing the examinations.

She also entreated all supervisors and invigilators to ensure that the needed serene atmosphere is created at all times during the examinations.