The 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), an all-important gateway to secondary education, has been rocked by one of the most disturbing cases of institutionalised malpractice ever uncovered.

A JoyNews Hotline investigation led by GH Probe’s Francisca Enchil reveals how some officials of the Ghana Education Service (GES), alongside supervisors, headteachers and invigilators, transformed the sacred national exercise into an organised crime syndicate - trading academic integrity for financial gain.

At two examination centres in Accra - Derby Avenue RC Basic School and St. George's Anglican Basic School - investigators found shocking collusion. Invigilators openly demanded 'tokens' of GHS60 daily, supervisors pocketed envelopes of GHS400, and candidates were even asked to contribute to a so-called “Aseda Offertory”.

Instead of vigilance, supervisors acted as lookouts, warning invigilators whenever WAEC or National Security officials drew near. Teachers and headteachers, despite being barred from exam centres, moved in and out freely, bribing officials and sometimes directly feeding candidates answers.

Candidates smuggled mobile phones into exam halls, some using artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT to generate answers. Handwritten and printed solutions were distributed, with some invigilators dictating answers aloud.

The exposé has triggered outrage. The Acting Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, Prof. Ernest Kofi Davis, has warned teachers face dismissal if caught. Civil society voices, like Kofi Asare of Africa Education Watch, caution that Ghana is "teaching children corruption in basic schools" - a dangerous normalisation of dishonesty.

Watch the full documentary Dark World of BECE here: