The West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) candidate, who died last Wednesday moments after completing the final paper, has been identified as 18-year-old Jacinta Phiapre Kubi Appiah from the Notre Dame Girls Senior High School in the Bono Region.

She died shortly after writing her final paper on a day that should have been a relief and celebration.

Jacinta Phiapre Kubi Appiah, immediately after the final paper, reportedly fell unconscious and was rushed to the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Hospital at Fiapre, near Sunyani, where she was pronounced dead.

She was reportedly on admission at the same hospital earlier, but was allowed to return to campus to write the final paper.

Her death turned what should have been a celebration of the end of years of academic preparation into a day of mourning for her family, colleagues, and the school community.

A native of Seikwa in the Tain District of the Bono Region, Appiah had written her final paper, Biology, on Wednesday, June 17, and went unconscious on the school premises while jubilating with her friends.

Her death has thrown the school community into mourning and raised questions about the handling of students who fall ill while in school.

Some students, who spoke to Graphic Online, said she had complained of chest pains and repeatedly asked permission to seek medical care. They claimed she was refused permission on some occasions. 

But the Bono Regional Director of Education, Gabriel Antwi, has countered that narrative by the students and said it was not true she was denied permission for medical care.

The director told Graphic Online's Biiya Mukusah Ali that Jacinta Phiapre Kubi Appiah was granted permission to seek treatment at the hospital after complaining of ill health a day before her final paper.

Mr Antwi added that medical officers at the facility wanted to keep the candidate on admission, but she insisted on return to school to write her final WASSCE paper.

“My understanding was that the doctor had tried to detain her, but she insisted that she had a paper, so they should allow her to go and write it,” he said.

Mr Antwi explained that Appiah returned to school, wrote the Biology paper and later fell unconscious while celebrating with colleagues after the final paper.

The regional Director said she was rushed back to the hospital but did not survive.

Mr Antwi said the school had a resident nurse and an infirmary to provide first aid and refer students for further treatment, where necessary, although he could not confirm whether she was first taken to the infirmary before the hospital.

He said he had questioned the headmistress over claims that the candidate had earlier been denied exeat, but she maintained that Appiah had been granted permission to go to hospital.

Mr Antwi added that her mother was informed that her daughter was unwell and arrived before her death.

Mr Antwi said Appiah had called her mother after writing the final paper to say she would return home the following day.

“After writing the last paper, she called her mother to inform her that she was coming home the following day, But she passed away,” he said.

When Graphic Online visited the school to establish the sequence of events surrounding her death, the Headmistress, Sister Irene Brookman-Arthur, declined to comment.

Graphic Online has gathered Jacinta Phiapre Kubi Appiah has since been buried at Seikwa and that she was buried on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, a week after her passing.

For her colleagues, the final day of WASSCE will be remembered not only as the end of an examination, but also as the day they lost a friend.