The lack of raw materials like cocoa, timber, diamond, oil and gold in Upper West, Upper East and Northern regions coupled with the savanna conditions and lack of mechanised farming, experts say had disadvantaged the regions over the years.

"We those from the Northern sector for that matter Upper West, we are poor, we don't have any raw material, and we don't have anything that we can boast of as a natural resource that we can depend on,” Mr Sulemana said.

"The only thing we can depend on and can also match up with those from the Southern sector is the ‘power and magic’ of education; that is the only level playground for us here, we don't have diamond, we don't have gold and no bauxite," he added.

Mr Suleman said this during Upper West BECE Summit at Wa Senior High Technical School organised by the Regional National Youth Authority in partnership with Ghana Education Service and Y-PES Ghana as part of their 2018 annual activities.

The Regional Director said the National Youth Authority with its partners in every year try to interact with BECE Candidates in the Wa Municipality as a way to contribute their quota to the forward match for education in the Region.

“Education is not for one man, it is a collective responsibility and the need for every person to contribute his or her quota for the development of Ghana and for that matter Upper West Region,” Mr Sulemana said.

“The teacher, students, parents are all involved because of this principle; as a student, your destiny is in your own hands and 90 per cent of your success is in you,” he added.

"We know, when we talk of standards in education, of late our performance as a region is not all that encouraging. It becomes a big question as to whether it is the cause of the teacher or the students."

Mr Sulemana challenged the pupils to make the Region proud by scoring 100 per cent in the upcoming BECE exams.

"I want to encourage you as final year students that nobody is created James, nobody is created super good, it is out of hardwork, when you work very hard as a student, you can always make it,” he said.

"People started well and ended badly, others didn’t start well but they ended well."

The Wa Municipal Director of National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Madam Akua Zakaria, also urged the pupils to take their studies as a top priority in life and respect their teachers too.

She admonished the pupils to stay away from all forms of social vices, saying: “Those of you doing boyfriend and girlfriend must stop.”

“It won’t help you because two kings can’t sit on one throne, wait until the time you can pay for sex before you go in for it,” she added.

The slogan for this year’s summit was: “The Journey to SHS 2018”.

The candidates were taken through how to answer BECE questions, avoiding exam malpractices, life after BECE exams and how to study for exams.