WAEC backs GES to dismiss teachers guilty of WASSCE malpractice

“The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has given its full support to the Ghana Education Service (GES) in its decision to sack any teacher found to have engaged in examination malpractices during the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates.

This comes after the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, directed the management of the Ghana Education Service (GES) to sack any teachers found or reported to be involved in examination malpractice in schools across the country.

Speaking at the 25th anniversary celebration of the International Community School (ICS) in Kumasi, the Minister in Charge of Education described examination malpractice as a growing threat to the country’s educational integrity.

“The major threat in the provision of quality education is a new phenomenon of phone cheating. When it’s time for exams, you see some of the young girls trying to rely on their phones to assist them, to aid them, to use shortcuts to pass,” he said.

The Head of National Office (HNO) of WAEC, Dr Rosemond Wilson, speaking to the Daily Graphic, said, “Yes, we back it so that it would deter others from engaging in such practice because it goes all the way to ruin the future of the children.”

The WAEC official comment follows the discovery of a teacher serving as an invigilator at the Armed Forces Senior High Technical School Centre in possession of a mobile phone, contrary to the examination’s rules and regulations.

When the phone was taken and checked, it had questions about the Picture Making and Oral English papers that were written this year.

He was subsequently asked to write a statement explaining why he took a mobile phone to the examination hall when he was supposed to deposit it on the supervisor’s desk, and also to state why he had those contents on it.

The Head of National Office (HNO) of WAEC, Dr Rosemond Wilson, confirmed the incident and indicated that invigilators were not supposed to take mobile phones to the examination hall.

“So, we have taken the matter up and we will deal with it,” she emphasised, saying the invigilator would be reported to his employers, the Ghana Education Service (GES).

Dr Wilson called on all education stakeholders to help the council to overcome the canker of examination malpractice, and that “we are going to crack down on this issue of examination malpractice so as to bring it down to the barest minimum.”

This year, a total of 461,640 final-year Senior High School (SHS) students, representing 207,381 males and 254,259 females, are participating in the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School.

To be held at about 700 centres across the country, the management of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) in a statement sighted by Pretertiary.com said this year’s candidature is slightly higher than the 2024 entry figure of 460,611.

In all, candidates from 701 Senior High Schools (SHSs) will be participating in the 2025 edition of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School at over 700 examination centres nationwide.

According to the West African Examinations Council, responsible for the conduct of the 2025 WASSCE for School candidates, each examination centre will be monitored by 701 supervisors, 1,391 assistant supervisors, and 15,391 invigilators.

This year’s West African Senior School Certificate Examination marks the fourth year that Ghanaian students are writing the “Ghana Only” version of WASSCE, introduced to give the country full control over the examination calendar.