The Ghana National Council for Private Schools (GNACOPS) has demanded that the government remove the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) from Ghana’s education system as soon as possible.
The Council contends that the examination body is no longer relevant and has not made much progress in the nation’s educational system.
The group also claimed that the WAEC is impractical and ignorant when it comes to fostering students’ development, which will ultimately make it difficult for Ghana to get out of its long-term economic and developmental difficulties.
The GNACOPS position on WAEC is in response to the exam body’s most recent findings regarding the 2022 West African Senior Schools Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
WAEC’s report criticized private schools for flouting the exam-related laws and regulations documented by the examination commission.
The examination body further alleged that over 20 people have been detained at private schools’ examination centres for allegedly impersonating candidates in the ongoing WASSCE.
However, speaking to the media on Wednesday, September 21, the National Executive Director for GNACOPS, Enoch Kwesi Gyetuah, disputed the claims by WAEC that malpractice was pervasive in private schools.
“Private school owners and their teachers that are linked to these exam centres are not allowed to be part of the team that will monitor the exams,” he added.
According to Mr Gyetuah, the assertions by WAEC are devoid of legal findings and evidence hence, the public should pay no heed to WAEC’s accusations against private schools.
Meanwhile, Executive Director for GNACOPS has encouraged WAEC to deploy scannable machines to exam centres to help address impersonation and other exam malpractices rather than apportioning blame to private schools.
“WAEC should have been able to adopt technological structures to eradicate most of these rampant issues that they have been complaining about all the time,” Mr. Gyetuah emphasized.
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) was founded in 1952 by the governments of Ghana (then Gold Coast).
WAEC Ghana examinations in the public interest, awards certificates, and ensures that the certificates issued do not represent lower standards of achievement than equivalent certificates issued by examining authorities in the United Kingdom.
On the other hand, Ghana National council of private schools (GNACOPS), is an advocacy and results orientation organization that is bent on promoting educational pluralism to the needy communities in Ghana.
Source: The Independnet Ghana