The 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), which commenced yesterday, June 11, with over 600,000 candidates registered nationwide, has already recorded 10 cases of examination malpractices, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has revealed.

The culprits have been handed over to the police for investigation and prosecution.

Ghana has long faced persistent challenges with examination irregularities in both the BECE and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

These offences include collusion, possession of unauthorised materials, and impersonation during examinations.

Such breaches carry severe consequences, including cancellation and withholding of results pending thorough investigations.

Speaking on the JoyNews AM Show, WAEC’s Head of Public Affairs, John Kapi, disclosed disturbing details of the malpractice.

“These 10 culprits have been handed over to law enforcement agencies. Their actions are criminal under WAEC law, and the police will now work to prosecute them in court,” he disclosed.

“There was one supervisor who had a mobile phone. He had taken smart shots of the questions and posted them on social media,” he said. “In addition, six other invigilators were found with mobile phones containing pictures of the examination questions.”

Mr. Kapi further revealed that a woman who described herself as a fashion designer was caught with photocopied answers she intended to distribute to candidates.

Among those implicated were one student nurse and one administrator of a private school.

Highlighting the swift response by WAEC officials, Mr. Kapi explained that monitors acted quickly to apprehend individuals who were actively trying to solve questions and pass the answers to candidates in the exam halls.

He added that investigations are ongoing, with WAEC “still gathering reports from other centres that could not be reached yesterday”.

Further efforts to curb malpractice were also revealed.

Mr. Kapi said he had spoken with the National Investigations Bureau in the Ahafo Region and shared details of identified hotspots.

“They assured me that personnel would be deployed to those areas to maintain order,” he said.

He noted that the Ghana Education Service (GES) has also sent personnel to assist in monitoring examination centres nationwide.

“Our own personnel are out there too, and we believe this increased presence will deter anyone considering engaging in malpractice,” he concluded.