The Head of Public Affairs at the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) Ghana, John Kapi, says informal expressions commonly used on social media are increasingly finding their way into students’ examination scripts.

Speaking in an interview on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Monday, September 7, 2026, Mr Kapi said examiners had identified the use of contracted and informal expressions associated with platforms such as WhatsApp and text messaging.

His comments followed a decline in candidates’ English Language performance from a pass rate of 69 per cent in 2025 to 62.40 per cent in 2026.

"What I'm saying is that these things that we find in the social media space also finds its way into the candidates' writings."

Asked whether the increasing use of social media was directly responsible for the decline, Mr Kapi said WAEC had not conducted a study to establish a causal relationship.

“I do not have evidence to support that, but what I am saying is that these things that we find in the social media space also find their way into the candidates’ writings,” he explained.

“What we have seen in the scripts of the candidates can simply be related to the kind of language that we use on social media.”

Mr Kapi said the 2026 Chief Examiner’s report also identified poor control of grammar, weak expression, concord errors and basic spelling mistakes as some of the major challenges confronting candidates.

He noted that spelling and concord difficulties were also highlighted in the 2025 report, suggesting that the weaknesses had persisted despite efforts to improve English Language teaching and learning.

According to him, many candidates also lacked a proper understanding of the prescribed texts and were consequently unable to provide adequate literary analyses.