How WAEC caught 2023 WASSCE candidates who used AI to answer exam questions
The subject results of candidates from 235 schools have been withheld for allegedly using artificial intelligence (A.I.) generated answers during the 2023 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
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The West African Examination Council has further cancelled the subject results of 647 candidates for bringing foreign material like prepared notes, text books, and printed material into the examination halls.
839 candidates also had their results cancelled for possessing mobile phones in the examination halls while the council has also withheld the subject results of 4,280 candidates and the entire results of 1,005 for various suspected offences.
A statement issued by the council on Monday (Dec 18, 2023) said the withheld results of the candidates may be released or cancelled depending on the outcome of investigations.
Opening a one-day seminar on its laws and operations for circuit court judges and magistrates to bring them to speed and help them appreciate the laws, the Head of National Office (HNO) of WAEC, Wendy Enyonam Addy-Lamptey, expressed worry about the incidence of rise in examination malpractice.
Describing it as unfortunate, she identified the perpetrators as some school authorities, teachers and parents.
“It is sad that the youth are being trained in this manner, some candidates are desperate to take their mobile phones into the halls to use artificial intelligence (AI) to answer the questions,” Mrs Addy-Lamptey said at a day’s seminar in Accra.
WAEC gives details on how it nabbed WASSCE candidates who used AI
Providing an insight into how it was detected that some of the candidates who sat for the 2023 WASSCE relied on Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms, WAEC said it noted that candidates who took part in the exams in 235 schools provided AI-generated answers, hence their results had been withheld.
The Head of Public Affairs at WAEC, Mr. John Kapi, in a radio interview with Accra based Citi FM said they realized that some candidates copied wrong answers the AI platforms gave them.
He said, “One candidate typed in the question, and the response was that ‘I’m not familiar with the term you have used,’ and the candidate wrote the same response in the answer booklet. Another candidate wrote, ‘I cannot detect the term you have used.’ This is a clear indication of the use of AI.”
Mr. Kapi highlighted the evolving challenge of cheating methods, noting that candidates used to bring in mobile phones, take snapshots, send them for solutions, or sneak in with pre-solved answer sheets.
However, the emergence of AI as a cheating method poses a new and significant challenge.
The WAEC representative emphasized plans for collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES) to enforce strict adherence to rules regarding mobile phone usage in second-cycle institutions.
Regarding the investigation into the use of mobile phones, AI, or intercepted questions, Mr. Kapi said they are investigating the issue.
“We’ve monitored all the rogue websites that were publishing the questions we had put out there. Our investigations and some reports that were received from national security indicated that all the questions that were found online were put out there after the commencement of the examination. The suspicion is that these questions were out there after the supervisors or invigilators or even candidates had taken snapshots and put them out there seeking assistance,” he stated.
Mr. Kapi stressed the importance of candidates engaging in independent work and individual efforts for certification.
Those suspected of using AI are expected to be invited for a fair hearing.
