The Ministry of Education has chastised the former President and the National Democratic Congress flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama over his recent allegations that sought to undermine the credibility of the 2023 West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination results.

Reacting to Mr Mahama’s claims that some invigilators relax on their job as teachers are often found aiding students in answering questions, the Education Ministry in a statement dated December 29 2023 touted the significant strides that candidates who sat for the 2023 West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination made and called on Ghanaians to ignore the Former President’s comment.

According to the Ministry of Education, the National Democratic Congress flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama’s allegations only seek to undermine the significant effort the ministry and its partners including the Ghana Education Service have made in improving teaching and learning across the country.

“We have made monumental progress in core subjects from an average 40.93 per cent score (A1 –C6) in 2015 to a highly improved average of 69.73 per cent score (A1 – C6) in 2023.”
Ministry of Education

The Ministry of Education further indicated that the results for the 2020 and 2023 West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination saw the highest 8A1 numbers ever recorded, with the country recording four hundred and eleven of the four hundred and sixty-five 8A1s registered throughout West Africa.

According to the Ministry of Education, over the years the West Africa Examination Council has instituted several measures to curb examination malpractices during both the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) test administration.

The Ministry thus credited the gains made by students during the 2023 West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination to government initiatives such as the Free SHS policy, which gave students access to more teaching hours, remedial packages, core texts, and teachers who were more prepared, for this advancement.

Ministry Of Education Calls On Ghanaians To Condemn Mahama’s Comment

Furthermore, the Ministry of Education called on all well-meaning Ghanaians and organizations that focus on education to condemn the National Democratic Congress flagbearer, Former President John Dramani Mahama over his unfortunate comments.

The statement indicated that Former President John Dramani Mahama comment is a misrepresentation of facts on the result of the 2023 West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination which also seeks to malign the credibility of the vast majority of teachers and students across the country.

Moreover, the Ministry of Education asserted that all invigilators and supervisors who were involved in malpractices during the 2023 West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination were reported to law enforcement agencies for onward investigations.

The statement emphasized that such individuals when found guilty would be made to face the full rigorous of the law which is likely to result in the termination of their contract with the Ghana Education Service.

“The Ministry of Education wishes to assure our students, parents, guardians, and the general public that the quality of education and examinations at all levels, including the WASSCE, was not and will not be compromised”
Ministry of Education

Meanwhile, Kofi Asare, the Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, has urged the West African Examination Council (WAEC) to be free from the Ghana Education Service and its staff.

He argued that using instructors and people working for the Ghana Education Service to administer exams adds to the myriad of issues related to exams, such as cheating and other malpractices.