Eight (8) teachers and invigilators have been convicted and sentenced for their roles in examination malpractices in the 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has disclosed.
He has also disclosed that those teachers would be taken off the payroll of the Ghana Education Service (GES).
This, he said, forms part of broader measures being rolled out by stakeholders in education to curb the growing phenomenon of examination malpractices in the country.
“Last year, about eight teachers were involved in facilitating cheating and have been dealt with in accordance with law. About eight (8) of them have been convicted and sentenced, and they will be taken off the payroll of the Ghana Education Service,” he stressed.
He was addressing journalists during a monitoring tour of BECE centres in Sefwi Asawinso in the Western North Region yesterday.
According to the minister, the visit afforded him the opportunity to wish the pupils good luck in the examinations as well as access the state of education in the country outside the capital, Accra.
Mr. Iddrisu bemoaned what he described as “growing phenomenon of exam malpractice,” noting it has become a particular concern to the government.
He, therefore, encouraged teachers and invigilators to be professional, noting that “we expect nothing short of the highest standard of integrity.
“So, we mean business. We mean that walk to this exercise with the highest sense of integrity, as that defines your future and defines what kind of responsible citizens you will be tomorrow.”
Mr. Iddrisu further warned the pupils to eschew any form of examination malpractice, pointing out that about 178 candidates were affected by this last year, leading to several papers being withheld and, in some instances, the papers being cancelled.
“So, to you the candidates, honesty and integrity define citizenship, honesty and integrity define patriotism and integrity must be the hallmark of your molding – character molding to be able to serve Ghana better tomorrow. So, don’t engage in any exam malpractice,” he added.
Meanwhile, the minister has disclosed that government is dealing with the symptoms of the problems associated with the Computerised School Placement System, which has become a source of worry for students and their parents over the years.
“If we want to enhance the Computerised Placement System, we must invest more in education infrastructure, more classrooms, more dormitories, more laboratories and improvement in provision of learning materials and the quality of it,” he pointed out.
620,141 candidates from 20,395 schools in the country are expected to take part in the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination, which began yesterday.
The number, which comprises 304,349 boys and 315,792 girls, represents an increase of about 2.7 per cent compared to last year’s number. Each candidate is expected to write a total of 11 subjects.
The examination is taking place at 2,303 centres nationwide and is being overseen by 2,303 supervisors, with support from 2,070 assistant supervisors and 21,791 invigilators.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak