In a bold move to restore the integrity of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has arrested six teachers and numerous students for various forms of exam malpractices.
“We have been monitoring the situation closely, and we will not hesitate to take action against anyone found engaging in exam malpractices,” said John Kappi, Head of Public Affairs at WAEC. “We will not tolerate cheating in any form.”
The arrests come after years of struggles to combat exam malpractices, which have plagued the WASSCE.
In 2020, entire papers were cancelled due to widespread cheating scandals.
According to Kappi, the teachers were caught writing answers for candidates, while students were found with foreign materials and engaging in other forms of cheating.
“We have picked up information in some of the areas where we were told that they wanted to collect money, and then assist the candidates…”.
“We set our monitors around – there were actually widespread examination malpractices.”
WAEC’s crackdown on exam malpractices sends a strong message to would-be offenders, as Kappi emphasized.
BY Daniel Bampoe