The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has issued a stern warning, stating that it will arrest and penalise teachers, invigilators, and parents found attempting to disrupt the ongoing Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

According to WAEC, students involved in malpractice will also face strict disciplinary actions in line with examination regulations.

With over 560,000 students participating nationwide, WAEC's Head of Public Affairs, John Kapi, emphasised that subject results could be annulled if malpractice is detected, pending the students' responses.

“What is the intent of anybody who puts money inside their answer booklets, obviously to find any other means apart from an honest way of getting their grades? So, I think there should be a way in which we correct some of these things.

“If a child at this stage is already thinking about soliciting support and not following the right path to get something, then I believe that we should find ways of letting these people get some form of correction."

The Public Relations Officer for the Ghana Education Service, Cassandra Twum, stated that students have been briefed on the examination protocols.

She mentioned that at the examination centres, there are nurses available to provide immediate medical assistance in case of a sudden illness or collapse.

“And so, they know they are not supposed to do that, and they know they are not to go to the exam hall with any device. When you are caught, you have dire consequences to face.”

The Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum remarked that he visited to observe the BECE and was pleased to see the students fully engaged in their examinations.

He mentioned that he refrained from visiting many classrooms so as not to disrupt the students, expressing confidence in their abilities to perform well.

“Let me commend WAEC. For the last three years, when I directed that WAEC should be serialized, they complied and they obliged, and today, as I speak with you at the examination centre you see here, we have different sections of questions from the examination not too far from here.

“This has helped curtail what we knew to be examination leakages because if you want to say that you have the questions and you have gotten them leaked to you, you do not know which examination centre has those questions, so parents are not buying and students are not interested. They are focused on studying and going to write the exams.”

In an interview with JoyNews, two headmasters from St. Mary Seminary Senior High School in Guan, which serves as an exam centre for over 15 communities in the Oti region, raised concerns about inadequate resources such as textbooks and a shortage of teachers.

They stated that these challenges have made it difficult to properly prepare students for exams.

The headmaster stressed the importance of establishing a dedicated exam centre for each school, particularly in their town, where there are two junior high schools (JHS).

“But now we do not have a centre there, and now we have to converge on this place. Imagine the ups and downs, the nature of the bad road, and the students, in a way, they are stressed before even coming here”.

Nonetheless, the students remain confident in their ability to excel in the exams.

A student said, "Although in our village there is no light, we are well-prepared because we know what we are looking for, as at times, although that place is a village, we wake up early in the morning and come to study every evening after school.”

Another said, "We are a bit nervous because there is no curriculum. The government has changed the entire system of schools, and we do not know what subjects are coming. We do not even have past questions to learn because it is a new curriculum, so we are feeling a bit nervous.”

Member of Parliament for the Wa West in the Upper West region, Peter Toobu, who previously donated food supplies to support the candidates, offered words of advice to them.

“You started class one with some people; they are not here with you. Some of them fell out on the way, so if you are able to get to JHS 3, I know that you will go to senior high."

“I am here to encourage you; please listen to your teachers. Listen to the instructions and show the level of discipline that you have gotten from your various schools.