The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is to review its regulations to make examination malpractice unattractive in the country.

The Chairman of the council, Prof. Ato Essuman, said the current regulations on examination malpractice were “too lenient” and, therefore, needed to be reviewed to safeguard the integrity of the council’s examinations at all levels.

“Some of the rules are too lenient; when someone is barred for three years for cheating, the person can return to write. We can increase the number of years to make those engaged in such acts determine whether it is worth the risk,” the chairman said after visiting some examination centres in the Greater Accra Region yesterday.

Rationale

The visit, which formed part of measures the council had put in place to safeguard the integrity of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), was also to afford the chairman the opportunity to learn at first-hand the situation at the centres.

Among schools he visited were the Wesley Grammar Senior High School (SHS), the St Margaret Mary SHS and the Ebenezer SHS, where candidates from other schools were also writing the examination.

The WASSCE, which started on August 16, 2021, ends tomorrow.

Prof. Essuman described the examination processes at the centres as satisfactory, saying “everything is going on smoothly, even though we have heard reports of cheating in some schools”.

He added that moving forward, there was the need for the government, parents and other stakeholders to work together to ensure the integrity of WAEC examinations.

He was accompanied on his rounds by the Head of the WAEC National Office, Mrs Wendy Enyonam Addy-Lamptey, and other officials of the council.

Message

“The message I want to send to the people, especially parents and teachers, is that we are building a group of students and individuals who must demonstrate the ability to ensure the integrity of this country,” Prof. Essuman said.

“So we have to take issues such as copying and parents going the extra length to purchase questions for their children, most of which are not even true, very seriously,” he added.

Prof. Essuman entreated parents and teachers to desist from aiding their children and students to cheat, adding: “We are teaching the children practices that will not lead to the development of this country when we help them cheat.”

“Whatever role that we play in moulding the younger generation, we must set examples as role models for the good of this country,” the chairman said.