About 8,000 Junior High School (JHS) students in the Upper East Region risk having their education curtailed due to lack of placement into Senior High Schools (SHS) for the 2010-2011 academic year. This was expressed by the Coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGO) in the region led by Northern Patriots in Research and Advocacy (NORPRA) at a meeting with Regional Minister Mark Woyongo and the Regional Education Directorate in Bolgatanga. The President of NORPRA, Mr Bismark Adongo Ayorogo, who read a statement on behalf of the coalition, explained that a number of schools in the region would be writing five subjects including Mathematics, English, Social Studies, Basic Designing and Technical Skills instead of the six subjects programmed under the computerized selection of qualified candidates for the SHS. "We undoubtedly anticipate the students encountering very serious problems," he said. According to Mr Ayorogo, information received from the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) indicate that candidates who write more subjects in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) are likely to score better grades and stand the chance of getting placement into SHS. The Coalition, therefore, appealed to the Regional Minister and the Ministry of Education (MOE) to address the problem. The Regional Director of Education, Mrs Agnes Atagabe said although some of the students study the "Grune Language" as a subject, it has not been recognized as examinable by WAEC. The Regional Minister expressed dissatisfaction about the problem, tasking the Regional Directorate of Education and the coalition to work out plans for the Regional Co-ordinating Council to forward it to the MOE for redress. He stated that teams from the various districts are developing the Grune Language to make it an examinable subject for the BECE. Source: GNA