5 Fined GH¢6,000 for exams fraud

The Goaso Circuit Court in the Ahafo Region has fined five persons a total of GH¢6,000 for their involvement in various examination malpractices in the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for private candidates.

In default of the payment of the individual GH¢1,200 fines, the convicts, Emmanuel Asante, Kwame Kyei Darkwa, Azimi Aziba, Augustine Alale and Yakubu Ridwan, will each suffer 12 months’ imprisonment.

The sentences involve three separate incidents.

In the first case, Chief Inspector Daniel Tawiah, the Prosecutor, told the court presided over by Mr Kwaku Twumasi that Emmanuel Asante and Kwame Kyei Darkwa were arrested on September 13, 2019 distributing solved objective questions to candidates during the Animal Husbandry Paper.

When the two appeared before the court on Monday, September 16, 2019, they were charged for illegal possession of examination questions and distributing same.

Each was fined GH¢1,200 after pleading guilty.

Solved questions

In the second case, a candidate, Azimi Aziba, who went out of the examination hall during the Physics ‘2’ Paper to receive a photocopied solved questions from one Augustine Alale, pleaded guilty and was also fined GH¢1,200.

She was charged with illegal possession and distribution of examination documents and foreign materials.

However, Alale pleaded not guilty and was remanded into prison custody, but changed his plea to guilty the next day and was fined GH¢1,200 or in default to serve 12 months prison term.

Question on social media

In the third case, a candidate, Yakubu Ridwan, was also brought before the court for capturing questions of the Physics ‘2’ Paper written on September 12, 2019 with his mobile phone and circulating them on the social media, while the examination was ongoing.

He was charged with bringing foreign materials into an examination hall and circulating questions on social media.

Yakubu pleaded guilty and a fine of GH¢1,200 was slapped on him or in default serve 12 months’ imprisonment.