The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has revealed that several invigilators involved in malpractices during the recently concluded West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) have either been fined or remanded, with others awaiting legal proceedings.
The WASSCE, which began on Monday, August 5, 2024, with Visual Arts project work and ended on Friday, September 20, 2024, witnessed multiple instances of exam malpractice.
WAEC identified infractions, including the distribution of answers to candidates, the smuggling of mobile phones into examination halls by both students and teachers, as well as the use of projectors and boards to display answers for students to copy.
Head of Public Relations at WAEC, John Kapi, confirmed that legal actions are already underway against some of the invigilators involved, while investigations continue. He also noted that candidates found in breach of exam regulations would face consequences in line with WAEC’s policies.
“Once we pick up a mobile phone from you, it is an obvious infraction, and with that, we cancel the entire results. With those that had the answers projected on the board, it was stopped, but you cannot stop the candidate from writing the exam at that particular moment. With those who ran away, we asked the heads of the schools to produce them,” Kapi explained.
He further added, “Every other teacher who was picked up was handed over to the police. Some have had their cases already adjudicated. They have been charged. Some have paid fines. Others still have their cases in court. Others were remanded, a number of them. For the teachers, they were reported immediately, but for the candidates, they are usually allowed to finish their exam, and after that, we investigate what happened.”
WAEC also expressed gratitude to stakeholders who reported attempts by certain schools to engage in cheating during the exams. The Council reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining the integrity of its examinations despite the challenges encountered.
This year’s WASSCE saw a concerted effort to ensure that those involved in exam malpractice are held accountable, and WAEC has vowed to continue enforcing strict measures to promote credible and fair assessments across all examination centres.