‘Wake Up’ – Education Minister Urges WAEC To Find Workable Solutions to Exams Malpractice

Education Minister Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum has indicated that some of the measures adopted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) against examination malpractices are not working.

He asked the exams body to wake up and institute strong measure to curb the malpractices by removing the incentives for cheating.

“WACE must wake up and smell the coffee,” Dr Aduwtum told Alfred Ocansey on the Ghana Tonight show on TV3 Wednesday August 17.

“WAEC must remove the incentives for cheating, cut the root.” the Bosomtwe lawmaker added.

Recently, education think-tank Africa Education Watch is calling on the WAEC to investigate and sanction all its external supervisors and invigilators deployed between September 13 – 20 during the 2021 West Africa Senior Schools Certificate Examinations (WASSCE).

Malpractices during that period in the conduct of the English Language and Mathematics papers have been captured in an exposé by Corruption Watch.

The documentary showed how invigilators colluded with school authorities to supervise grand cheating by candidates.

Some teachers solved examination questions from leaked papers and transmitted the answers via WhatsApp platforms supervised by management.

“We call on WAEC to withdraw and re-investigate the 2021 WASSCE results of all candidates of All For Christ SHTS, taking into account the fresh evidence provided in the Corruption Watch documentary; prevent any teacher of Duadaso SHTS from invigilating at the upcoming 2022 WASSCE until full scale investigations into the conduct of all staff in that institution is completed; investigate and sanction the external supervisors and invigilators deployed to Duadaso SHTS and All for Christ SHTS on 13th and 20th September, 2021 during the conduct of the English Language and Mathematics Papers; permanently withdraw the examination center accreditation of All For Christ SHTS,” Eduwatch said in a press release dated Thursday, August 4.

The think-tank wants all investigative and disciplinary findings made public.

It also called on the Ghana Education Service (GES) to immediately interdict the headmaster of Duadaso SHTS and some three others including the Assistant Headmaster, Senior Housemaster and a Science Tutor.

It also wants the Ghana Police Service to identify and investigate officers deployed to the schools at the time the malpractices were carried out.

“The collective and timely actions of stakeholders to hold persons accountable for examination malpractices is the first major step in discouraging others from participating in this fraudulent enterprise.”