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The
West
African
Examination
Council
(WAEC),
says
a
new
trend
of
examination
malpractice
is
emerging,
where
some
candidates
hide
money
and
contact
numbers
in
answer
booklets
in
a
bid
to
influence
their
exam
results.
The
contact
numbers
come
with
the
inscriptions,
call
me,
help
me,
call
my
mom,
to
appeal
to
the
examiners.
The
Council
has
also
made
a
strong
case
for
a
review
of
the
sanction
regime
to
curtail
the
recurrence
of
these
examination
illegalities.
A
recent
study
by
WAEC
revealed
a
worrying
trend
of
rising
examination
malpractice
in
the
country.
The
period
between
2021
and
2023,
showed
a
significant
increase
in
the
percentage
of
candidates
involved
in
examination
malpractice
from
2%
in
2021
to
10%
in
2023.
WAEC’s
Head
of
Corporate
Affairs,
John
Kapi
said
“The
Council
is
recording
a
high
number
of
cases
where
candidates
write
telephone
numbers
or
the
phrase
“help
me”,
“call
me”,
“just
call
my
mom”
in
their
answer
booklets
and
add
GHC50
or
more
to
it.
Mr
Kapi
said
their
Staff,
Ghana
Education
Service,
and
GNAT,
personnel
from
the
Ghana
Police
Service,
National
Security,
National
Intelligence
Bureau
as
well
as
external
monitoring
agents
have
been
recruited
by
the
Council
to
monitor
the
examinations.
Head
of
Legal
Affairs
at
WAEC,
Rev.
Victor
Brew,
made
a
case
for
a
review
of
the
current
sanction
regime
to
deter
others.
”The
current
penalty
points
in
the
law
translates
into
a
fine
of
between
GHC1,200
to
GHC3,000,
which
is
not
deterrent
enough.
If
we
can
have
a
change
in
it
to
an
amount
that
is
hefty,
then
we
can
make
some
head
way
and
deter
others,”
he
added.
The
Council
also
revealed
that
it
has
reported
some
19
cases
of
examination
malpractice,
out
of
which
4
have
been
convicted
with
two
cases
being
heard.
The
Ghana
Police
Service
is
investigating
the
remaining
cases.
This
year’s
BECE
will
begin
from
Monday
July
8
and
end
on
Monday
July
15,
with
569,095
students
expected
to
sit
the
exam.