A nation’s educational system may be significantly and extensively impacted by examination fraud, which is usually known as cheating, or examination malpractice.
Beyond the short-term repercussions for specific pupils, the impacts of examination malpractice can undermine the general quality, legitimacy, and integrity of the country’s educational system.
As often familiar with Ghana, the country is divided on the credibility of the result of the 2023 West African Secondary School Certificate Examination following the release of the result by the West African Examination Council.
While members of the ruling New Patriotic Party including the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia have eulogized the candidates who sat for the examination and associated the gains made to government flagship Free Senior High School Policy, the Former President and flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, John Dramani Mahama has questioned the integrity of the result and attributed it to failure on the part of invigilators to enforce rules and regulations guiding the examination.
Many argue strongly that examination fraud or malpractices subvert the principles of meritocracy, where individuals are rewarded based on their genuine abilities and efforts but instead, success becomes contingent on dishonest practices, eroding the merit-based foundation of education and career progression.
For many educationalists, the severe effect of examination fraud is its impact on societal values. Exam fraud can have long-term social consequences by contributing to a culture of dishonesty and corruption.
In most instances, the individuals who grow up in an environment where cheating is normalized may carry these values into other aspects of their lives, impacting societal ethics and values.
The Executive Director for Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare has decried the phenomenon and passionately called for immediate steps and measures from the government and all stakeholders to confront the cancer of examination malpractices without excuses.
According to Mr Kofi Asare government and other stakeholders must stop pretending that examination malpractices do not affect examination results and the quality of human capital in the country.
He further noted that downplaying or politicizing the genesis of examination malpractices by political leaders to achieve a political objective would do no good to the country and its educational system.
“When a candidate we all know cannot even write answers when dictated to her gets B, you must be worried wonder she won’t attempt tertiary; she wants fire service. One headmaster remarked. I told them the story of a lady who entered a public university to read BEd with an aggregate of 12. That year, she had the best entry grade in the department, becoming the ‘poster girl’ at matriculation. My checks later revealed she attended one of the WASSCE tourism schools in Brong Ahafo. Eduwatch has a tall list of WASSCE tourism schools in Bono, Ahafo, Central, Ashanti and Accra.
“Once you pay, you get your A. Very simple! WAEC, GES, MoE, Parliament etc are all aware so don’t ask me anything. We are tired of reporting without action. After semester one, her best grade was E. As usual, she would be sent home. The HoD was concerned and confused, knowing her entry grades. When HoD inquired, the lady said her dad’s death two days before the exam affected her performance. HoD requested she reapplied; and gave her money for forms. This was in 2016. We are still waiting for her application in 2023. The last time HoD followed up, the lady said she wanted to join the police”.
Kofi Asare
Examination Room Collusion
Moreover, Mr Kofi Asare attributed the rising increase of examination malpractices in the country to ‘examination room collusion’ in the various senior high schools in the country which has escalated to ‘dizzy heights’ in recent times, particularly in lower category schools.
He indicated that the key drivers of the examination room collusion are the proliferation of the use of mobile phones in senior high schools, lack of prosecution by law enforcement agencies in the country, weak sanctions by the Ghana Education Service, and weak supervision by the West Africa Examination Council among others.
According to him, the situation has nothing to do with the introduction of the government’s flagship senior high school policy as suggested by some sections of the public.
“Yesterday, I spoke to 13 SHS heads from 8 regions. They are people I know personally from UCC. I sought to find out about the exam room collusion situation in SHS before 2018 when Eduwatch did not even exist. Our monitoring started in 2020. I learnt the following: Just like Galamsay, exam room collusion did not start now. Ten years ago, WAEC experimented with moving teachers from their schools to supervise in other schools. This was obviously because of the issues of collusion then”.
Kofi Asare
It is important to note that addressing examination malpractices in the country would require a comprehensive approach that involves implementing robust assessment systems, promoting ethical behaviour, and fostering a culture of academic honesty.
Therefore, government and all stakeholders including educational institutions, and society at large must play crucial roles in creating an environment that values integrity and upholds the standards of a quality education system.
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