Dealing with exam malpractices: WAEC meets stakeholders in Upper West Region

The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has made a passionate appeal to all stakeholders within the educational sector to help stem the rising incidence of exam malpractices in the country and to protect the integrity of the certificates issued by it.

The council said in spite of all the measures it has put in place to stop or minimise the occurrence, the incidence is rising, leading to some candidates having their entire papers cancelled.

It said aside from undermining the integrity of the WAEC certificate, the practice was also a cause for concern as “widespread examination malpractice can foster disillusionment among honest students and citizens and potentially lead to protests and social unrest.”

At a meeting for stakeholders in the Upper West Region in Wa, the Head of Humanities at WAEC, Daniel Nii Dodoo, said in the year 2020, the council withheld the results of 3,235 candidates, while subject results cancelled were 10, 496 and 510 candidates had their entire results cancelled.

The following year, he said the numbers saw a significant jump, as the subject results withheld were 568,153 and subject results cancelled were 12,560. Those who had their entire results cancelled saw a little drop, 422.

Last year, Mr Dodoo said the council withheld 532,891 subject results, cancelled 38,693 subject results while 463 candidates had their entire results cancelled.

He said the figures were becoming alarming and that there was the need for all the stakeholders to come together to find a lasting solution to the menace.

Participants

The meeting was attended by district directors of education, representatives from the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs), Association of Private Schools Owners and representatives from the security agencies and mission schools.

Some of the participants attributed the rise in the exam malpractices to the pressure being exerted on the school managements by the PTA to perform and improve on the classification of the schools.

Some also accused politicians of meddling in the affairs of the schools and forcing the heads of the schools to condone exam malpractices, in order to show an improved performance of students to vindicate a particular educational policy.

Concerns

The Upper West Regional Director of Education, Razak Abdul Korah, also expressed his concerns about the rising incidence of exam malpractices in the region in recent times.

He warned staff of the Ghana Education Service (GES) involved in the practice to desist from it and help to protect the sanctity of the examinations.

He said, “If the reports get to my desk, be rest assured that it would go straight to the Director General of Education.”

A retired educationist and the Paramount Chief of Dorimon, Naa Seidu Tisalinbile II, who chaired the programme, said the lack of proper supervision and the mass promotion of students could also be the cause of the rise in exam malpractices in the country.

He said if students who did not perform well in one class were allowed to progress to the next one as a result of government policy, “the possibility of such students to cheat to enable them to progress is very high.”