The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has denied reports circulating on social media about purported leakage of examination papers in the ongoing 2019 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
A statement copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) and signed by Agnes Teye-Cudjoe, the Deputy Director of Public Affairs for the Head of National Office, WAEC, explained that the Council’s attention had been drawn to that false information circulating on social media.
However, it explained that there has not been any leakage of examination papers for the WASSCE for school candidates, 2019.
The statement said the Council, in its monitoring of the examination, had received information regarding examination malpractice in some examination halls as a result of poor supervision and invigilation.
It also received reports by insiders that some school authorities create hideouts for teachers knowledgeable in the subject area to wait for the question paper packets to be opened for snapshots to be taken in order to solve the questions and send answers to candidates at the examination hall.
The statement said the Council had also learned that there was smuggling of mobile phones to the examination hall by some candidates awaiting solutions, as well as the resurgence of the operation of rogue websites.
These website operators, it explained, with the connivance of some invigilators and supervisors, received snapshots of the question papers from the centres after the packets were opened, solved the questions and posted the answers on their websites and the WhatsApp groups of candidates who had paid for their services.
To address the challenges, the Council had increased the inspection and monitoring of the examination at the various centres, withdrawn and/or annulled the appointment of some supervisors and invigilators pending further sanctions.
It has also made a formal complaint to the Cyber Crime Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service on the operations of these rogue websites.
“A number of candidates suspected to have been involved in examination malpractice are being investigated. As a further step, the Council would scrutinise all scripts of schools where cheating has been reported,” the statement noted.
The statement said a large number of candidates had conducted themselves very well and due process would be followed to ensure fairness to all.
The Council urged all stakeholders, including members of the public, to collaborate with them to safeguard the integrity of the examinations and certificates awarded.
GNA