EduWatch calls on parents over ongoing mass cheating in WASSCE

Africa Education Watch (EduWatch) has urged parents of candidates writing this year’s West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School to advise their wards against engaging in examination malpractice in the ongoing Ghana version of the International examination.

In an open letter to parents sighted by Pretertiary.com, EduWatch Director, Kofi Asare, said, “Every year, we receive countless petitions on cancellations and withholding of BECE & WASSCE results. As I write, 24 came in this week on the 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

Since 2023, over 50,000 WASSCE subject papers have been cancelled each year, out of an average of 450,000 candidates presented annually. We are doing about a 10% malpractice rate in Ghana.

This means your ward stands more than a one-in-ten chance of being affected if they join the collusion culture in many schools.

Today, we are aware that some Senior High Schools (SHSs) are solving questions and transmitting them through phones for students to copy; a regular practice there.

But let me assure you: although the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) may not be in your ward’s exam room, its software is built to detect cheating with high accuracy.

In 2023, out of about 40,000 collusion cases punished by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), less than 2% were reported by exam officials in the room.

Escaping detection in the exam room gives your ward only 2% freedom because they paid cash to some bad invigilators and supervisors. But, WAEC’s systems will likely still detect and cancel results.

If you care about your ward and don’t want to petition us on the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results, please pick up the phone today and talk to them.

Pray that they have not already compromised themselves in the subjects already written.”

This year, a total of 461,640 candidates, made up of 207,381 male candidates and 254,259 female candidates across the country, are writing the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School.

The 2025 West African Senior School Examination Certificate (WASSCE) for School commenced with practical examinations. The written papers will begin on August 20, 2025 and end on September 19, 2025.

In all, 65 subjects will be taken by candidates, but each candidate will take an average of eight subjects. The 2025 WASSCE for School examination will be conducted in about 701 examination centres across the country.

In a related development, the Ghana Education Service (GES) says final-year Senior High School (SHS) students caught cheating in the ongoing 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) could face 12 to 15 years in jail.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, the Dormaa Central Municipal Public Relations Officer of the GES in the Bono Region said the entire results of offenders could also be cancelled or withheld.

“The candidates are also under strict supervision to prevent the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the examination,” the GES spokesman stated, adding that the examination was progressing steadily without challenges.