Students behind Bawku SHS rampage must be punished

At 1 a.m. yesterday, Bawku Senior High School (SHS) in the Upper East Region should have been quiet. Instead, it became a crime scene.

Final-year students, angry over strict enforcement of WASSCE rules, turned on their teachers, vandalised school property, burnt motorbikes, destroyed electricity meters and water lines, and ransacked staff residences. (See page 13)

Two teachers were assaulted; one with severe injuries was referred to Bolgatanga Regional Hospital.

Security had to be beefed up. Some students fled by scaling the wall. All because invigilators refused to condone examination malpractice.

When students riot because they cannot cheat, we are not dealing with just “exam anxiety”.

We are dealing with a collapse of values.

We are raising a generation that sees dishonesty as a right and accountability as oppression.

If that culture enters our universities, our workplaces, politics, and our public service, Ghana will pay a price far higher than the cost of repairing Bawku SHS.

Restoring electricity and water is one thing.

Restoring trust is another. But the higher cost is the integrity of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) itself.

The West African Examinations Council’s credibility depends on one thing: that every candidate earns their grade.

When students believe that cheating is normal and that invigilators who stop it will be attacked, we create an environment where malpractice thrives.

That devalues the certificates of honest students in Ghana, including those at Bawku SHS who stayed, wrote their papers, and obeyed the rules.

Exam malpractice is not a student problem alone. Students do not invent cheating on their own.

It is enabled by a network: “miracle centres”, rogue teachers, parents who demand good results at any cost, and a society that celebrates certificates more than competence.

When we glorify “first class at all costs” and shame average but honest performance, we create demand for malpractice.

Bawku’s students only acted out what many already believe quietly.

Teachers who enforce rules are not enemies; they are guardians of standards.

It is duty.

Teachers who invigilate honestly risk their lives, as the assaulted staff at Bawku now know.

Yet they do it because a nation that cannot police its examinations cannot police anything.

We must protect and praise such teachers, not abandon them to angry mobs. 

Education Service (GES) and security agencies must investigate thoroughly and prosecute the culprits to the full extent of the law.

Assault, arson, and destruction of public property are crimes, not “student indiscipline”.

If perpetrators are shielded because they are “final-year students” or because of community pressure, we send the message that violence pays. It does not.

Those who destroyed property must pay for repairs.

Those who assaulted teachers must face justice. 

Leniency here will invite copycat incidents elsewhere. Security on campus after the fact is necessary, but we must prevent the mindset that leads to such a rampage.

That means continuous civic and moral education in schools.

It means principals and GES Directors must engage students before WASSCE begins, explaining why exam integrity matters.

It means parents must tell their children, “Bring home the grade you earned, not the grade you stole.”

It means WAEC, GES, and school heads must ensure invigilators are adequately protected during examinations.

While the rampaging student scaled the wall at Bawku, others stayed and wrote their papers peacefully.

They are the real story.

They prove that discipline is possible even under pressure.

They deserve a system that protects them from cheating peers.

To teachers and invigilators nationwide: We see you.

Enforcing rules in a hostile exam hall is lonely, stressful work.

You are not doing it for yourself. You are doing it for Ghana.

The state must guarantee your safety and back you when you do the right thing.

WASSCE is more than an academic exercise.

It is a national character test.

Can we follow rules when no one is watching?

Can we accept “fail” today so we can build competence for tomorrow?

Can we respect authority when it says “no”?

Bawku SHS failed that test yesterday with the fateful incident.

But the nation does not have to.

The school has its electricity restored.

The examination is continuing.

That resilience must extend to our values.

Let the investigation be swift and transparent.

Let the cost of repairs be borne by those responsible.

Let security remain until calm is real, not just enforced.

Above all, let every school use this incident to start a conversation with students: What kind of nation are we writing into existence with our pencils?