Member of Parliament for Builsa South and Deputy Ranking Member on the Education Committee of Parliament, Dr Clement Apaak, says technology can be deployed in examinations to combat malpractice.

According to Dr Apaak, he believes Ghana should adopt a system where students can take exams using computers at their schools instead of centralised exam centres.

Speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show on July 11, he said “It is happening in other parts of the world. A time will come, we will have no choice anyway. The way the global system is going, eventually it is going to become standard but in the immediate let’s sanction the few teachers.”

Dr Apaak's comment comes after 18 teachers from across the country were arrested for violating the rules governing the ongoing Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

Read also: https://www.myjoyonline.com/2024-bece-16-teachers-arrested-for-violating-exam-rules/

“As a nation, our morals have decayed to the extent that wrongdoing doesn’t seem to be frowned upon. We are seeing it. Many well-meaning Ghanaians are saying it, that we have lost our moral compass. We celebrate wealth without even thinking about the source of the wealth and we think it is okay. We celebrate success without bothering to question how the success was obtained,” Dr Apaak said.

He stated that students who will excel in the BECE will be celebrated without pondering on the possibility that they may have cheated to get good grades.

“That is the society we have become and that is unfortunate. So this is a microcosm of what we have become as a nation. We need to reset this nation,” Dr Apaak said.

Read also: 2024 BECE: Arrest of teachers, invigilators should serve as a deterrent to others - Ntim Fordjour

Dr Apaak stated that, a meeting should be held with WAEC to ensure that examination processes maintain global integrity in awarding certificates to students.

He also stated that WAEC must be adequately resourced to prevent operational disruptions and financial strains.

“When government says we are going to absolve the examination fees for all BECE and WASSCE students, government pays WAEC in a timely manner rather than this tendency where government has to wait for WAEC to come public, or to solicit the support of the parliamentary select committee on education to raise alarm bells for government then to remit in an attempt to defray an indebtedness,” Dr Apaak said.

However, the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum has introduced the serialisation of questions to address the incidence of examination malpractices in the country. 

The Minister said his directive to WAEC in the past three years to use serialisation, with which they complied, had curbed examination leakages. 

Speaking at the Accra College Demonstration Centres A and B, the Minister said the stringent measures put in place to check examination leakages were working perfectly. 

“If you want to say that you have the questions and you have gotten them leaked to you, you don’t know which examination centre has that question, so parents are not buying, students are not interested, and they are focusing on studying,” he said. 

As part of WAEC's effort to curb examination malpractice, it will ensure the prosecution of all teachers who have been apprehended for indulging in such practices.