At the Council’s stakeholders’ engagement on examination malpractices in Accra, it said in the year 2023, the three regions had the highest number of candidates (18,504) involved in the menace, Mr Daniel Nii Dodoo, Head of Humanities and Test Development Division, WAEC, said.
The meeting brought together officials from the Ghana Education Service, Ministry of Education, representatives of Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), Regional Supervisors among others to seek solutions to the challenge of examination malpractices.
Mr Dodoo, giving an overview of the menace, said Ashanti region “remains a focal point for intervention due to its high number of malpractice cases.
Ashanti region showed significant malpractice cases of 17,633 candidates involved in malpractices in the year 2023.”
Mr Dodoo said the Central Region has shown lower involvement but had an uptick in percentages, necessitating proactive measures.
According to Mr Dodoo, the WAEC’s data indicated significant upward trends in malpractice incidents over a three-year period.
He said in the year 2021, 29,291 candidates were involved in examination malpractices, while in the year 2022, 44,586 candidates were involved in the menace.
“In the year 2023, there is a continued rise in incidents of examination malpractice. 3,667 candidates brought in foreign materials to examination halls, 908 candidates are said to have used mobile phones for examination malpractices.
Twenty-seven candidates are said to have engaged in irregular activities with 478 candidates involved in collusion and 39,469 cases of collusion (detected in scripts), 37 persons were said to be involved in impersonation and one reported case of assault on supervisors,” he said.
Mr Dodoo said the reality of examination malpractice was a glaring truth that had infiltrated the country’s educational system and demanded urgent attention.
‘We must confront the pervasive nature of this malpractice and its serious implications for our national security.”
Mr Dodoo noted that the issue of examination malpractice had been escalating in West Africa and the menace had been driven by complex interplay of socio-economic pressures, a pervasive culture of impunity and weak regulatory framework.
“Far from being a trivial academic concern, we must understand that this malpractice poses serious threats to our national security, undermining the integrity of our educational institutions and eroding public trust in our systems.”
He said examination malpractice could severely distort educational policies, erode educational integrity and threaten the council and its staff and management, threaten governance and international reputation, social unrest and youth radicalisation
According to him, addressing the menace required galvanizing social force by all stakeholders.
He appealed to the media to continue to raise awareness on the menace, conduct investigative reporting and promote success stories.
Dr. Mrs. Rosemond Wilson, Head of National Office, WAEC, said the meeting was not mere talk, rather stakeholders were to combine their efforts to combat examination malpractice which was fast eroding the credibility of examinations, and the value of certificates, lowering academic standards and destroying the future of children.
Dr Wilson said stakeholders had the capacity to combine forces with the council to collectively combat the menace.
“Your rich experiences and the ideas you will share will enable us all to come up with practical solutions to solve this problem.
We believe that together we can restore the dignity of learning and ensure that certificates earned reflect hardwork put into learning and save our future generations.
GNA
