Renowned educationist Professor Stephen Adei has openly rejected the credibility of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), describing it as an assessment that no longer reflects the true abilities of Ghanaian students.
He revealed that the Ghana Christian International High School, which he founded, abandoned BECE results as an admission requirement more than a decade ago because of the widespread cheating and corruption that characterise the national examination.
During a discussion on the Hotline Documentary: Dark World of BECE, he explained that his school had relied on its own independent entrance processes for the past 11 years because it had “lost trust” in the BECE.
According to Prof. Adei, although the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) continues to introduce new strategies, the malpractice problem has become deeply entrenched.
“There is a catch-up game. It seems the things are entrenched and always the things happen before they try. For example, deploying monitoring teams, some of whom have also been corrupted; arrest and prosecution of only a few; cancellation of results… so they are trying, but there are many against the tide”
Professor Stephen Adei, Educationist and Economist
He argued that part of the failure lies in the corruption of some of the very officials sent to enforce integrity. Investigative findings highlighted in the documentary reinforce his concerns. At centres such as Derby Avenue RC Basic School and St. George’s Anglican Basic School in Accra, exam officials were discovered engaging in collusion.
Invigilators demanded GHS 60 daily “tokens” from candidates, supervisors collected envelopes of GHS 400, and students were even asked to contribute to what was labelled an “Aseda Offertory.” Such revelations, he suggested, demonstrate that malpractice has become institutionalised rather than incidental.
Prof. Adei drew a broader link between exam malpractice and Ghana’s social fabric, arguing that the decay in schools mirrors a larger decline in moral values across public life.
“What is happening is a reflection of the moral degradation or degeneration in our society,” he remarked, pointing to political bribery, galamsey operations that destroy the environment, and corruption in public institutions as examples of a system that rewards dishonesty. He warned that the pressure to succeed at any cost has filtered down into classrooms.
“So people are now having a lot of mansions they cannot explain, cars their income doesn’t support, and that goes down into the school to say that once you achieve, irrespective of how, society will recognise you”
Professor Stephen Adei, Educationist and Economist
Schooling Without Learning
The professor expressed particular concern about the quality of basic education, arguing that many pupils complete primary school without acquiring literacy. He described this as a case of “schooling without learning,” a phrase also used by the World Bank in 2016.
He contrasted the situation with neighbouring Togo, where every child is literate by the second year of primary school. By comparison, many Ghanaian pupils pass through the public school system unable to read or write properly, yet still find ways to obtain certificates through malpractice.
The result, he explained, is the production of “students with poor study habits,” who are encouraged by adults to cheat their way through examinations. Prof. Adei provided examples of how communities have normalised the culture of paying for malpractice.
He cited one village where every candidate is required to contribute GHS 60, money that is shared among officials including police, headmasters, and invigilators. Such practices, he suggested, show that malpractice is not just a failing of individual students but an organised network sustained by adults in authority.
Although he acknowledged that poor preparation on the part of candidates contributes to malpractice, he stressed that the actions of supervisors, invigilators, and teachers make the problem worse.
“When their supervisors are themselves corrupt and this corruption, bribery, and collusion among examination officials is so rampant…” he noted, the environment leaves little room for honest students to survive. For Prof. Adei, the deeper concern lies in the future of the country.
“The bottom line is our society is losing its values and integrity because success is all-important, irrespective of how you get it,” he said, warning that the erosion of integrity in the education system reflects a society that is steadily abandoning its principles and hard work.
He argued that Ghana’s political system, which often rewards the highest bidder, reinforces this dangerous message. His remarks followed the documentary’s exposé of how officials of the Ghana Education Service, supervisors, and teachers had turned a sacred national exercise into an organised crime syndicate.
For Prof. Adei, the outcome is a generation of students who may hold certificates but lack the skills, discipline, and values to contribute meaningfully to national development.
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