Crackdown on exam malpractice: 8 Jailed, 10 fined
Eight examination officials, who were apprehended in various examination malpractices last year during the Basic Education and Certificate Examination (BECE), have been jailed.
Additionally, a total of 10 others were fined between 100 and 200 penalty units, translating to about GHc5,000 each.
The Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Professor Ernest Kofi Davis, who announced this, added that one other official was fined and also imprisoned.
Briefing journalists on the effort being made to deal with examination malpractice as this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) took off yesterday (Monday), the GES director-general said currently 46 other offenders were being processed for the appropriate sanctions to be meted out.
Prof Davis, who announced this, said different committees sat on the cases and the reports were submitted to the GES.
“We will review this report, and then take it to council, and once we receive council’s blessing to trigger the proposed sanctions, we will do so,” he stated.
Cases
Throwing more light on the various offences, Prof. Davis said 17 of the cases were mobile phone-related, while 13 were involved in the distribution of prepared/photocopied answers.
Six were involved in solving questions for candidates, also known as external support, four had unauthorised materials, while three were involved in network and collusion.
Of the three remaining cases, one each was theft/leakage, financially motivated malpractice (bribery) and direct assistance (dictating answers).
Advice
He said regional and district directors had been detailed to ensure that any teacher who had been involved in any form of examination malpractice did not go near any of the examination centres.
“I wish to remind all supervisors and regional directors of education that all teachers and supervisors who were linked to examination malpractice last year and are being processed for sanctions are banned from the examination centres.
They are not expected to have anything to do with the examinations,” Prof. Davis instructed.
He gave the assurance that the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and GES were collaborating with the security agencies to ensure law and order at the various examination centres.
Exams malpractice
Expressing concern about examination malpractice, Prof. Davis said it continued to be a major problem in the conduct of the examination.
He described the practice as dangerous since it made it difficult to accurately assess the learning outcomes of students.
“At the end of the day, the results of the student who cheated in the examination will never reflect the student's true academic capability.
“This often leads to wrong judgment of learning outcomes in the country and has the tendency to affect the formulation of education policy in our country,” Prof. Davis stated.
To counter the practice, he said the management of the GES and WAEC had, therefore, embarked on a sensitisation of the public to appreciate the harmful effect of examination malpractice on educational development in the country.
He advised all stakeholders, including teachers, parents, invigilators, supervisors, school authorities, traditional authorities, the security, the media, as well as the general public, to support the effort to fight examination malpractice and conduct successful examinations.
