Collective action necessary to stem BECE malpractices
The Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) which began in 1989 is the first major national examination to be written by Ghanaian school pupils after nine years of basic education, made up of six years of primary school and three years of junior high school.
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The examination which would, beginning this year, be written in June (previously in April) has been described by some as unfair because they do not see how students who are prepared under better facilities and environment should be made to write with those who do not have the full complement of teachers, let alone facilities.
One worrying trend in the BECE is the level of malpractice that continue to plague the examination. In fact, at the release of the provisional results of every BECE, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), organiser of the examination tells Ghanaians that a number of results were being withheld pending investigations. With all examination regulations spelt out by WAEC, it is sad that we continue to hear of results of candidates being withheld.
Examination malpractice has not only become a worry to the education authorities but to WAEC, which students previously thought failed them so that they could rewrite. For the first time in many years, the council decided to pour out its frustration when it came out with the facts and breakdown on the level of examination malpractice in the BECE. I hope it does the same thing for the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) this year, although the WASSCE is an international testing system for Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.
Indeed, WAEC said in its statement that, “over the past few years there have been sharp increases in both numbers and forms of the malpractice recorded during the BECE”.
It said for instance, “the 2009 figure of 525 candidates who were sanctioned for their involvement in various kinds of examination malpractice more than doubled to 1,083 candidates in 2010”. The figure then increased to 1,127 in 2011 before dropping to 823 in 2012 after a lot of work by the council, Ghana Education Service and other stakeholders.
Each year, according to the council, over 90 per cent of the candidates involved in malpractices carried foreign materials into the examination hall or colluded.
Some statistics and breakdowns would do here to show the level of malpractice. From 2010 to 2012, 565 candidates took foreign materials in the examination hall. The breakdown is 2010, 117 candidates; 2011, 111 candidates and 2012, 337 candidates.
Also, collusion reported by supervisors, invigilators or inspectors during the same period totalled 588. For collusion detected in scripts, there were 1,678 candidates involved from 2010 to 2012. In 2010 there were 535 candidates while in 2011 there were 874. In 2012 there were 269 candidates involved.
The figures put out indicate that the smuggling of foreign materials into examination halls and collusion over the past three years had been a problem.
There is also the region to region breakdown as far as irregularity is concerned. In Ashanti Region in 2010, 619 candidates were involved. In 2011, the figure reduced to 87 and then increased again in 2012 to 308. The Brong Ahafo Region had 143 candidates in irregularity in 2010; 335 candidates in 2011 and then 167 candidates in 2012. The Central Region had 123 irregularities in 2010; 130 in 2011 and 40 in 2012. Eastern Region had 58 in 2010; 33 in 2011 and seven in 2012. Greater Accra had 13 candidates involved in irregularities in 2010; 22 in 2011 and then 57 in 2012.
The others are: Northern Region, 18 candidates (2010), 222 (2011) and 61 (2012). Upper East Region had eight candidates (2010), 21 (2011) and eight (2012). Upper West Region, 13 candidates were involved in 2010, 12 (2011) and 77 (2012). In the Volta Region, 75 candidates indulged in examination malpractice in 2010; 35 (2011) and 37 (2012) while the Western Region had 13 irregularities in 2010, 230 in 2011 and 61 in 2012.
Looking at the number of candidates involved in irregularities as against the total candidates in the regions, the numbers of irregularities might look insignificant but the fact that there were irregularities calls for concern. The fluctuating figures indicate that once the rate of the malpractice drops, we all go to sleep resulting in it going up again. Sustained education is required to ensure a consistent drop in examination malpractice so that the country is not overtaken by a situation where the practice becomes synonymous with examination.
WAEC believes that the uncovering of notebooks, textbooks and mobile phones, among other things, by its iinspectors, suggested lack of vigilance on the part of supervisors and invigilators, i.e. laxity largely accounted for the high incidence of the malpractices.
There is also the issue of candidates who went out of the examination hall to refer to books or sought assistance from non-candidates.
Well, that is one aspect of the problem, and I am sure if you ask the supervisors and invigilators they would also tell you another thing or their version. The blame game would come to play here, and at the end of the day we would not find any solution and the problem would persist. Indeed the solution lies in a collective resolve by all.
Examination malpractice is nothing but cheating. The BECE is written by the majority of candidates who are 15-year olds, and if they are assisted or allowed to cheat in an examination then the country is in trouble.
To discourage examination malpractice, WAEC has adopted the “name and shame” attitude in WASSCE by publishing the names and photographs of those involved. Although that had been criticised in some circles, the council thinks stakeholders are not heeding to examination regulations hence the adoption of the practice.
Cheating in the BECE is not because candidates want to pass the examination, it is because they want to pass well and get a good senior high school to attend. It is said that when some of them secure admission in those ‘big’ schools they do not perform, a source once indicated.
Examination malpractice is a canker that must be the concern of all because of its negative effects on the development of the country as a whole.
Parents, guardians, school heads, teachers, invigilators, supervisors and candidates themselves need to do more to help address the problem. While parents and guardians need to educate their children on the need to be honest, school heads, teachers, invigilators and supervisors must know that they would be jeopardising the future of the children if they assisted them to cheat in examination.
The children must be made to know that there is no short cut to success and that they need to take their studies seriously to be successful in their examination. Sunday school teachers and pastors can also help in this matter. As candidates are prayed for before the BECE, they must be told not to engage in cheating since it would not help them.
Sustained education on the dos and don’ts of not only the BECE but other examinations must be communicated clearly to pupils.
Regional and District Directors of Education must take up this matter of examination cheating with pupils.
We should not wait till the BECE is approaching to carry out public education on its dos and don’ts. The problem has been identified, let us tackle it collectively. Competition is good but cheating to be ahead in the competition is bad.
Article by Emmanuel Bonney