EduWatch Calls for Swift Prosecution of Individuals Arrested in Connection with 2023 WASSCE Malpractices

The Education Think Tank, Africa Education Watch (EduWatch), has urged the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to accelerate the prosecution of candidates who engaged in misconduct and were apprehended during the 2023 West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE).

In a statement issued on Monday, EduWatch expressed its appreciation for the collaboration between the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) and WAEC, which improved the security measures for the WASSCE questions.

The think tank highlighted that despite these efforts, there were still security breaches which resulted in the leakage of questions for the Social Studies 1, Biology 2, and (Elective) Mathematics 2 papers on social media approximately 45 minutes before the scheduled time for the examinations.

“While appreciating the swift investigations leading to the arrest of the culprits, we call for an expedited prosecution with outcomes made public,” it added.

The Education Think Tank, further stated that all school heads or owners who were identified by WAEC for obstructing their monitors from entering the examination centres in real-time should face sanctions imposed by both the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the National Schools Inspectorate Authority.

They also recommended that the outcomes of these sanctions be made public.

EduWatch emphasized the importance of the Ministry of Education providing resources to WAEC for the recruitment of sufficient Non-GES External Supervisors at each examination centre for every paper to enhance the supervision and security of the examination process.

It also urged the GES to escalate its sanctions regime, suggesting that teachers who engage in misconduct during examinations should face the possibility of outright dismissal from their positions adding, “This would be the boldest ethical statement of the GES leadership against the participation of staff in examination malpractices and fraud.”

EduWatch called on the government to consider amending the WAEC Law, as the existing sanctions outlined in the original law were now considered outdated and in need of revision to address contemporary issues and challenges.

“As far back as 2021, WAEC submitted at a stakeholder convening in Koforidua hosted by Parliament, with the Ministry of Education, Security Agencies and GES in attendance that, the sophistry in today’s examination malpractice and fraud was fast overtaking the deterrent relevance of the WAEC Act, 2006 (Act 719).”

“The sanctions regime provided in the Law is significantly outdated, whereas the scope is too constricted to provide a responsive legal framework for a credible examination. This makes the pursuit of adequate sanctions/successful prosecution of examination malpractices/fraud culprits very challenging. The Ministry of Education must prioritise the amendment of the WAEC Law.”