GES requests ‘copy’ of Joy News’ Dark World of BECE documentary

The Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Prof Ernest Kofi Davis, has officially requested copies of Joy News’s Dark World of BECE documentary, which exposes corruption in the just concluded national examination, the Head of Public Affairs at the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), John Kapi, has disclosed.

His comment comes after the Ghana Education Service (GES) gave assurance that it will investigate this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) malpractice, exposed in the JoyNews documentary.

The Ghana Education Service (GES), in a statement sighted by Pretertiary.com, will obtain a copy of the full documentary with the original transcripts and scrutinise the allegation for further investigation.

“The GES wishes to assure the public that a copy of the full documentary with the original transcripts will be obtained and scrutinised immediately, after which a full-scale investigation would be conducted into the allegations.

Management reiterates its absolute aversion to examination malpractice. Cheating undermines the integrity of our education system, destroys meritocracy, and produces graduates who lack the competencies required for national development,” the Ghana Education Service said in the statement.

With the support of the Minister of Education, Mr Haruna Iddrisu and the GES Council, the Service said it will sanction any GES official found to have been involved in aid cheating in the 2025 BECE.

Teaching or non-teaching staff of GES found guilty of examination malpractice in the national examination, the Education Service says, will face severe disciplinary action in accordance with the law and established Service regulations.

“Management has the support of the Minister for Education, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, and the GES Council, to sanction any official of the Service- teaching or non-teaching- found to have been involved in aiding or abetting cheating in the examination.

Such persons, if found guilty, will face severe disciplinary action in accordance with the law and established Service regulations,” GES said in the statement signed by its Head of Public Relations, Daniel Fenyi.

But speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express monitored by Pretertiary.com, the WAEC spokesperson said the GES request for the documentary is a critical step toward determining the appropriate sanctions for the teachers implicated in the investigation.

He stressed that although the West African Examinations Council collaborates with the Ghana Education Service (GES) during examinations, the Council does not have direct authority to discipline teachers.

“The Director General of Ghana Education Service (GES), Professor Ernest Kofi Davis, has requested the videos that were shown,” the Public Relations Officer for WAEC told the host of JoyNews’ PM Express

He added, “I just want to put on record that these are teachers who are not directly under the employment of the West African Examinations Council, and so technically, we would not be able to sanction them, except for the fact that we would ask them to step aside and wouldn’t take part in any of our activities any longer

But then for anybody to be able to sanction them appropriately, that will come from the Ghana Education Service (GES).”

The documentary titled “Dark World of BECE,” produced by GH Probe investigative journalist Francisca Enchill, exposes widespread cheating in the national examination involving Ghana Education Service (GES) officials and invigilators.

Excerpts of the documentary, sighted by Pretertiary.com, indicated that officials of the Ghana Education Service (GES) colluded with invigilators, accepting as little as GH¢60 to allow candidates to cheat in the 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE).

At the Derby Avenue RC Basic School in Accra, investigators found that invigilators were promised GH¢60 daily to look the other way as candidates smuggled mobile phones into examination halls, used artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT, and even received solved questions directly from officials.

At St. George’s Anglican, the investigators discovered that supervisors distributed envelopes containing GH¢400 to invigilators, while candidates themselves were instructed to make daily payments.

The investigation revealed that malpractice was carefully organised: invigilators dictated answers, circulated handwritten and printed solutions, and collected the evidence before candidates left the halls.

According to the documentary, some supervisors acted as lookouts against the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and National Security officials, ensuring malpractice went undetected.