The written part of the Cameroon General Certificate of Education (GCE) Examinations has been launched by the Registrar of the GCE Board, Humphrey Ekema Monono.

The launching took place this yesterday Monday, May 30, at Government High School (GHS) Akwaya, Center Number 11204, Manyu Division, South West Region.

Humphrey Monono who set the ball rolling by sharing the first Ordinary Level (O/Level) Paper (Economics 1) said it is their prayer that the examination will go on smoothly and end well as it has started.

However, the big news of the day was the promise the Registrar made to the 19 Advanced Level candidates of the school; to pay their school fees on condition that they will be successful and register with the University of Buea. Apart from these 19 A/Level candidates, GHS Akwaya also filled in 67 O/Level candidates.

The written part of the G.C.E launched, was preceded by practical sessions for both O/Level and A/Level subjects which started some three weeks ago. This year 182,000 candidates are taking part in both Ordinary Level and Advanced Level General and Technical Examinations and are being hosted in 587 centers across the national territory.

Special accommodation was made for the visually impaired persons and candidates with special needs. In an interview over national radio, Monono said the Board is already considering organizing GCE examination in other countries like Equatorial Guinea, Gabon etc. where they have been solicited and studies are already going on.

The written part will take three weeks and will immediately be followed by the marking exercise. Results are expected late July or early August.

With threats of extremists’ attacks, special security measures were taken this year, and candidates in areas prone to Boko Haram attacks were moved to special camps like the Minawao camp in the Far North.

The GCE Board was created in 1994 to manage General and Technical Education Examinations of the English subsystem of education in Cameroon after many flaws in its organization by the Department of Examination of the Ministry of National Education.

The 2016 examinations are the 23rd edition organized by the Board. This Tuesday, May 31, more than 300,000 students of the French subsystem of education will engage the written part of Examinations organized by the BAC Board.