The Member of Parliament for the Assin South Constituency, Hon. Rev. John Ntim Fordjour has cautioned that, although WAEC has over the years battled with examination leaks, the overwhelming scale of mass leakages of examination papers characterizing the past decade, calls for serious concern, hence the need for a swift review, before it causes Ghana into loosing its educational credibility on the international front.
“The credibility of the certificates awarded by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) in Ghana is at stake. The psychological and financial strain that parents and innocent students are subjected to in preparations for a re-sit in events of exam cancellation is traumatizing”. Hon. Rev. Ntim Fordjour has acknowledged.
Hon. Rev. Ntim Fordjour in a statement presented on the floor of Parliament on Thursday June 1, 2017, has conveyed his best wishes to the candidates scheduled to sit 2017 BECE which commences on Monday June 5. He essentially expressed concern over the perennial leakages of WAEC examination papers, describing the intensity of implications it has on the image of Ghana on the international front.’’
According to him, it is an unfortunate phenomenon which grossly undermines the integrity of the education system of Ghana and potentially vitiates the sustenance of the international competitiveness of Ghanaian students.
Perennial examination leakage, according to the MP, had been the bane of the examination body despite the recurring assurances by WAEC.
He also suggested the need for stakeholders to join forces together in preventing any leakage in the pending Basic Certificate Examination (BECE), which is expected to start on next week Monday, as he conveyed his best wishes to all candidates who are preparing for the exams.
Citing some instances in 2002 and 2008 where the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE), were cancelled due to examination leakage.
“The most embarrassing of the menace occurred in 2016 where amidst the viral transmission of examination questions on various social media platforms hours prior to the scheduled exams, WAEC failed to concede the leakage, but rather insisted on describing the incidence as foreknowledge of the questions before commencement of examination”. He emphasized.
He further advised stakeholders to stop the blame game and rather focus on fostering effective collaboration to protect the integrity of examinations.
The grave repercussions, following examination leakage, he stressed cannot be overemphasized.
“The National Board for Professional and Technical Examination (NABPTEX), has over the years, discharged conscientiously their mandate of administering schemes of Technical, Vocational and Professional Examinations across the country, with an utmost integrity, he said. So if NABPTEX has consistently got it right in Ghana, then WAEC could also succeed in their mandate with optimum commitment to excellence and integrity”.
Hon. Ntim Fordjour also commended WAEC for successfully conducting the 2017 WASSCE without any reported case of leakage, but was quick to admonish WAEC not to allow this success to be temporal.
He concluded by appealing to WAEC, Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and other stakeholders to be resolute in their commitment to sustain the integrity of examinations conducted in Ghana by WAEC.
