According to the council, the measure is to help protect the integrity of the Ghanaian educational system and credibility of certificates issued to students who seek to further their education both in the country and beyond.

“There is therefore the need for collective and collaborative effort by all stakeholders to reduce the exam malpractice. This stakeholder effort is necessary to protect the integrity of our educational systems and credibility of certificates issued by WAEC.”

In a communiqué released by WAEC after a seminar for stakeholders within the sector, the examination body added that the examination board will also introduce the application of modern techniques such as computer-based testing, e-marking software among others to curb examination malpractice.

The council also announced their intentions to review the WAEC Law for unbending punishment for students who engage in examination malpractice in this year’s WASSCE.

According to the Head of the National Office, Mrs Wendy E. Addy-Lamptey, the council has for the first time taken the finger print of 2019 WASSCE candidates in order to nip in the bud the growing trend of impersonation.

“In order to nip in the bud the growing trend of impersonation, the registration exercise for the 2019 examination for school candidates, for the first time, will capture fingerprints of candidates. Every candidate for this year’s examination would be biometrically verified,” she said.

Statistics by the WAEC also showed that out of the 315,247 candidates that sat for the examinations in 2018, 2,787 candidates representing 0.88% were caught indulging in examination malpractice a significant decrease from the 13,793 examination malpractice cases reported in 2017.