Lateness, seizure of smartwatches characterise WASSCE

Lateness and seizure of smartwatches characterised the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) at some centres in Accra.

This came to light when the leadership of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) inspected some of the examination centres in Accra yesterday.

At the Osu Presbyterian SHS, about 16 students who were supposed to be seated at 8:30 a.m. for the Social Studies Paper II at 9:00 a.m., arrived at 9:25 a.m. As a result, they were prevented from entering the examination hall.

A similar situation occurred at the Labone SHS, where seven students were not allowed to take part in the exam because they came in an hour after the start of the paper.

However, students of the Osu Presbyterian SHS were later permitted to write the paper by the headmaster after several pleas, 40 minutes into the examination.

They cited traffic congestion and sickness as reasons for their late arrival to the examination centres.

About 50 smartwatches were also seized from some students of the Presby SHS, because possessing such items during examinations is against the rules.

Concerns

The Head of the National Office (HNO) of WAEC, Dr Rosemond Wilson, who led the delegation, described the situation as “worrying”.

“In our rules and regulations, students are supposed to be seated 30 minutes before the start of the paper; so supervisors are to adhere to this rule and regulation for the smooth start of the paper,” she said.

Dr Wilson added that supervisors were expected to write detailed reports on why the students were not allowed to write the papers for WAEC to take further action.

Generally, she described the examination as successful, and commended all stakeholders for their contribution in the exercise so far. 

Commitment

The Deputy Minister of Education, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, who also inspected the examination centre at Labone SHS, said the government was committed to ensuring that financial obligations to WAEC were settled on time to enable the body to discharge its mandate effectively.

“From time to time you hear some level of indebtedness and we respond timeously to ensure that even if we do not pay fully, we are able to put forth a substantial amount for them to be cushioned,” he said.

The deputy minister added that every quarter, the government made some payment, adding: “We will continue to do more to ensure that WAEC does not get stressed”.