Candidates copied during 2014 WASSCE
Collusion detected in scripts constituted the highest examination malpractice recorded in the 2014 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
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Out of the 8,051 candidates who were involved in examination malpractices, about 5,500 of them were detected to have been involved in collusion by the examiners.
Collusion detected in scripts is where the examiners detect copying among candidates in the course of marking the papers.
Bringing foreign materials to the examinations halls ranked second in 2014 examination malpractices, while irregular activities inside and outside the examination hall placed third.
Dialogue
The Head of the International Examination Department of WAEC, Mr N.C. Johnson, who made this available at a stakeholders’ dialogue in Accra last Wednesday, added that the registration of unqualified candidates ranked fourth.
The dialogue brought together members of staff of WAEC, teachers and students to brainstorm on the way forward in dealing with examination malpractices which is a threat to the integrity and validity of certificates issued by WAEC.
Examination malpractices in WASSCE on regional basis
Touching on malpractices on a regional basis, Mr Johnson said Brong Ahafo recorded 4,365 cases among the 22,451 candidates who sat for the examination, representing the highest number of cases, followed by Ashanti with 931 cases among 61,916 candidates, while Eastern placed third with about 673 cases among 35,543 candidates.
The Volta Region, he said, was fourth in the league with 585 cases out of 20,838 candidates, while Greater Accra presented 26,972 candidates and recorded 413 cases; Northern with 410 cases among 17,789 candidates; Central recorded 203 cases among 25,613 candidates, while Western recorded 181 cases out of 15,955 candidates.
The Upper East Region, which presented 8,729 candidates, recorded 155 cases of malpractices, while Upper West recorded 75 cases among the 4,856 candidates who wrote the examination.
On sanctions meted out to the offending candidates, Mr Johnson said the cancellation of subject results topped the list, with about 7,460 candidates suffering from it, while 368 candidates had their entire results cancelled.
Examination malpractices in BECE
In the 2013 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), the Greater Accra Region topped in examination malpractice with about 350 cases, with the Brong Ahafo following with 200 cases.
The Central and the Ashanti regions followed closely with about 180 and 150 cases, respectively, while the Western Region recorded 100 cases.
The Eastern, Upper East and Upper West regions followed in that order with about 20 cases each, while the Northern and the Volta regions placed ninth and 10th, respectively, with about 15 cases each.
Effects
Mr Johnson said examination malpractices affected WAEC as an institution, the schools whose candidates engaged in it, the candidates and society, adding that “it attacks the very existence of WAEC and contaminates the results we release”.
On schools, he said it affected teaching and learning negatively and bred indiscipline.
He said examination malpractices bred corruption, reduced the quality of human resource needed and retarded development.
Way forward
On the way forward, Mr Johnson encouraged the youth that they were capable of passing the examination without resorting to cheating.
He said WAEC was not relenting in its efforts at enforcing its regulations and encouraged its officers, supervisors and invigilators to be bold and sincere in the discharge of their duties.
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