This scourge must not be continued

Everybody who appreciates the value of education should be concerned about two disturbing media reports — the leakage of some papers in the ongoing WASSCE and the arrest of a publisher in Accra for printing fake university certificates for foreign students.

According to the Daily Graphic, some students in the Greater Accra and the Eastern regions had access to examination papers for Oral English, Integrated Science and Social Studies between 12 midnight and 4 a.m. on the days the papers were written. 

There were also pictures on social media showing students copying answers on their thighs (Daily Graphic, April 6, 2016). 

The case involving the printing of fake certificates is, meanwhile, in court.

The question which comes to the fore is: Is the leakage of West African Examinations Council (WAEC) papers becoming an annual ritual? 

We are saddened by the fact that the nation, touted as one of the best in Africa, if not the world, in terms of education should now be on its knees, boggled with such a canker. 

The WASSCE is the standard examination by WAEC in Anglophone West African countries — Ghana, The Gambia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

But we don’t want to believe that WAEC is losing its grip on instituting measures to safeguard the credibility of its examinations.

 Last year, for example, the council had to cancel five papers in the BECE following a leakage. Many are quick to ascribe this unfortunate trend to the lack of discipline, the breakdown of the moral fibre and the desire to cut corners to reap what one had not sown. 

How can students who are expected to study towards an examination rather spend their time looking for leaked papers? There are instances when parents are alleged to have purchased those papers for their children, while some school proprietors, head teachers and teachers push for that criminality in the name of setting good records for their schools.

It is, indeed, a shame that recently the Ghana Education Service (GES) had to hand over 186 teachers from two regions to the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) for their alleged use of fake certificates to gain employment and impersonation.

Everything has become so politicised that we have lost the ability to dispassionately discuss national issues for the common good. However, it is our wish that this issue is saved from this unhealthy attitude to save us all from looming danger. The perpetrators this time round must face the full rigours of the law.

Ghana’s excellent performance in the WASSCE last year, topping the chart in the sub-region and scooping the top three awards, should be a reminder that hard work, honesty and integrity are virtues second to none.

The Mirror appeals to all stakeholders — parents, school administrators, teachers and the public — to support WAEC in fighting examination malpractice. We can make it if we put our mind to it and stop this scourge of examination fraud in its tracks.