Ouagadougou: The Minister in charge of National Education, Jacques Sosthène Dingara indicated on Friday that 'the success of school exams is a challenge of sovereignty' which is why the forces are called upon to ensure their smooth running.'Success in the exams is a challenge of national sovereignty for which all forces are called upon,' declared the Minister in charge of National Education, Jacques Sosthène Dingara.The minister also called on the educational community, parents, the Defense and Security Forces, and the VDP to mobilize to offer children good conditions for school exams.Dingara spoke to journalists on Friday about the organization of school examinations and competitions for the Certificate of Primary Studies (CEP), the Brevet d'études du premier cycle (BEPC) of the Baccalaureates and others for the 2024 session.'In view of what has already been achieved and the commitment of stakeholders at all levels, we are confident that the various exams and school competitions of this session will be held in accordance with the schedule,' he maintained.In his opinion, the exams for the 2024 session record a total of 728,264 registered candidates including 402,602 girls and 325,662 boys compared to 753,606 in 2023, a drop of 25,342 compared to last year.The first head of the Department of National Education and the Promotion of National Languages also noted the reduction in the allocation of 77.838 million FCFA, i.e. a rate of 0.33% on a forecast budget of 23 billion 243 million 154,000 CFA francs allocated to his ministry.According to Jacques Sosthène Dingara, the CEP records 360,340 candidates, i.e. 198,364 girls and 161,976 boys compared to 376,297 in 2023, a drop of 15,957.At BEPC, there are 220,158 candidates including 130,497 girls and 89,661 boys compared to 216,253 the previous year, an increase of 3905 students.'The total number of TVET candidates is 26,999 candidates including 10,719 girls and 16,280 boys compared to 23,595 in 2023, an increase in numbers of 3,404 candidates,' noted the minister.He noted that for the Baccalaureate, the number of candidates amounts to 120,767 candidates, i.e. 57,745 boys and 63,022 girls, while that of 2023 had 137,461 candidates, i.e. a drop in numbers of 16,694 compared to 2023.Dingara finally indicated that major innovations have been made by his department in the management software for school exams and competitions for the successful holding of the 2024 session.Source: Burkina Information Agency