For as long as I have come to know it, unfortunately, for each year, there has been some form of controversy over the Basic Certificate of Education (BECE).

In almost all such controversies, one can pinpoint embarrassment and shame arising from examination practices, if not with children cheating at the examination halls or officials helping children to cheat. Why have we got to this stage, and for how long should we continue to accept and live with the disgraceful practice?

Malpractices

What is even more disturbing is that the malpractices are not just hearsay or mere allegations; they are realities. Our own West African Exams Council (WAEC) has come to grips with the situation, as confirmed by its own monitoring teams.

As recent as just over a month ago, the 2025 examinations, which started on August 5, has been hit with worrying anomalies as confirmed by a Daily Graphic front page story of September 6, headlined “ Ongoing WASSCE: WAEC uncovers massive cheating”.

According to the story, the monitoring teams set up by WAEC for this year’s Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations for school candidates have uncovered a high number of irregularities and cheating by some candidates and invigilators.

The details of irregularities that have so far been exposed are shocking, pointing to pre-calculated intentions to defy order and cheat the system and make selfish gains. A clear form of corruption.

Reportedly, the irregularities discovered by the WAEC monitoring team included impersonations, taking snapshots of questions and providing answers and carrying mobile phones into the examination halls, even though not permitted.

As swift as it may sound, already 16 persons have reportedly been picked up at various examination centres, while 64 mobile phones have been seized in one school alone by investigators.

Two people arrested for impersonation at one of the centres have already been processed for court. The two have been given six months' imprisonment each, and their accomplice has been given eight-month sentence.

Video evidence

A video monitoring evidence provided by an investigative journalist has also confirmed the extent of malpractices in this year’s BECE examinations. According to the video evidence, at some examination centres sampled, some invigilators were found demanding daily tokens of GH¢60 while supervisors were going home with envelopes containing “bribe” monies of GH¢400.

So, that is the extent tomorrow’s potential leaders are being compromised or preparing themselves for the future, a compromised future of “garbage in, garbage out”.  It certainly is not a good picture for parents and the nation. 

The Bible enjoins us to “Train a child the way he should go and when he is old, he will not turn from it.” (Proverbs 22:6). What one sees and hears points to a gloomy future for these children if care is not taken.

Academic excellence

With all that has been realised so far in this year’s BECE, with even more heightened and bold malpractices as are being reported, has that basic certificate examination for entry into Senior Secondary School been compromised and therefore not fit for purpose? How do we grade academic excellence when students are not studying to write exams as some of us did, but are being taught how to cheat for top scores?   

These acts cast their shadows on the indiscipline that one hears going on in some of our secondary schools and also by some youths.

One now understands why some schools will not admit new entrants based solely on their BECE performance. These schools have probably long seen the “garbage in garbage out” effect and will therefore insist on good performance using their own entry examinations for student wanting to join their schools as a measure for standards.

Some schools, which are quite well ahead, are conducting their competitive entry examinations for admissions even into their basic schools for children as young as 6 years old. That is their measure to grade excellence.

One can safely say that with all the escalated malpractices in the BECE, the system could be said to have been compromised, with trust thrown to the wind and integrity proving to be inconsequential. No, the system would need a complete overhaul to change the way BECE is run, going forward.

The WAEC basic certificate of examination needs a major shake-up in the way the examination process is carried out. For now, it seems the miscreants deep in the game of cheating are always ahead and giving the examination a bad name. 

Punitive measures, including a ban for culprits from writing any future examinations, cancellation of the entire school’s results, as well as dismissals, do not seem to have worked. And so, with the escalation of malpractices seen so far this year, it remains emphatic that any existing punitive measures need a second look. 

If students, teachers and invigilators have got their necks so deep into the misdemeanour of examination malpractices, the question is, can the image of BECE be saved? Has its values been badly compromised and therefore lost its relevance? 

Should schools begin to find their own means of recruiting students at that level? The questions are more than the answers, and your guess is as good as mine.

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The writer can be reached via email at vickywirekoandoh@yahoo.com