Four individuals have been apprehended by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) for their suspected involvement in exam misconduct during the commencement of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) on Monday, August 7, 2023.
Head of Public Affairs at WAEC, John Kapi, made this known to the public during an interview on JoyNews. He noted that the suspects attempted to aid candidates in cheating.
According to him, the arrests were made in the Ashanti Region, Central Region and Tema Central in the Greater Accra Region.
“One individual was picked up in the Ashanti region when he was trying to approach the examination hall with some prepared materials for the candidates. We also picked somebody from Tema Central where the lady had a tablet that has some information she intended to pass on to candidates.
“In the Central region, Dunkwa-On Offin to be specific, we picked up two people who were answering the questions in the middle of the paper that they intended sending to candidates who were writing,” he explained.
On Monday, candidates sat for Religious and Moral Education 2 (Essay), Religious and Moral Education 1 (Objective), English Language 2 (Essay), and English Language I (Objective). Both Papers 2 & 1 for each subject were taken at one sitting without break.
John Kapi has stressed that exam malpractice in any shape or form cannot be condoned.
Those arrested are expected to be charged and sent to court, Mr Kapi added.
This measure is designed to effectively prevent unsuspecting individuals and students from participating in any form of malpractice.
A total of 600,714 candidates are sitting for this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) for school and private candidates today.
The figure comprises 300,323 males and 300,391 females from 18,993 participating schools.
The 5-day examination will be undertaken under the supervision of the West African Examination Council (WAEC).
The exam commences from 9am to 3pm and nine subjects will be written in total. However, candidates with visual and hearing impairments are to be allowed an additional 50% of the time allotted to other candidates.
On Tuesday, the candidates will be examined on Integrated Science and Ghanaian Language and Culture.
Social Studies and Basic Design and Technology will be written tomorrow, August 8. On the fourth day, August 9, the candidates will sit for Mathematics and Information and Communication Technology.
The last day, Friday, the candidates will sit for just one subject, French. The students will commence at 9am and conclude at 10:45am.