THE WEST AFRICAN EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL, ACCRA

Transcription

1 THE WEST AFRICAN EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL, ACCRA ADVERTISER S ANNOUNCEMENT MALPRACTICES IN THE BASIC EDUCATION CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION Examination malpractice continues to pose the greatest threat to the credibility of our examinations. Over the past few years there have been sharp increases in both numbers and forms of the malpractice recorded during the Basic Education Certificate Examination. The 2009 figure of 525 candidates who were sanctioned for their involvement in various kinds of examination malpractice more than doubled to 1,083 candidates in It then increased slightly to 1,127 in 2011 before dropping to 823 in 2012 after very intensive work by the Council, the Ghana Education Service and other stakeholders. The greatest worry is that each year, over 90% of the candidates involved in the malpractices carried foreign materials into examination halls or colluded. This means that these malpractices, which ordinarily could have been prevented, escaped detection by Supervisors and Invigilators at the examination centres. The obvious and logical question is, were the officials lax or outsmarted by the candidates? The types of articles notebooks, textbooks, mobile phones etc. found on candidates, mostly by our itinerary Inspectors, suggest that lack of vigilance on the part of supervisors and invigilators, i.e. laxity, largely accounted for the high incidence of the malpractices. It therefore means that when our Invigilators and Supervisors strictly apply the rules and regulations for the examination and conduct thorough body checks on candidates before they enter into the examination halls, those forms of the malpractice can be minimized. It is for this reason that the Final Awards and Examiners Appointment Committee for the Basic Education Certificate Examination at its meeting on Friday, 20 th July, 2012 directed that the statistics on the cases of irregularities by Region and by District should be published in the national newspapers to inform stakeholders about areas where the canker is more prevalent for them to help redeem the situation. It is our expectation that District/Municipal/Metropolitan Assemblies and Directors of Education and other stakeholders will adopt effective measures to help minimize the malpractices at the examination centres within their jurisdiction. Parents and teachers will impress upon their children and pupils to desist from such activity. Religious groups and Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) which have the welfare of children as their foci will also counsel those in their charges to refrain from cheating in examination in order not to put their future at risk. It must be stressed that students are to strive for both academic and moral excellence so they must study hard and eschew cheating. Issued by: WAEC Public Affairs Unit for: Head of National Office

2 APPENDIX A Numbers of Candidates Involved in Examination Malpractices for the BECE Region No. of Candidates Sat No. of Candidates Involved in Irregularity Cases % of Candidates Involved Against No. Sat Per Region ASHANTI 73,105 76,068 76, BRONG AHAFO 32,139 34,220 34, CENTRAL 34,879 38,344 38, EASTERN 36,175 37,452 37, GREATER ACCRA 62,508 65,651 66, NORTHERN 23,956 27,247 27, UPPER EAST 13,372 16,226 15, UPPER WEST 8,776 9,168 9, VOLTA 25,835 28,156 27, WESTERN 34,756 38,050 38, TOTAL 345, , ,351 1,083 1, * 0.30* 0.22* National Averages per year. The trends given by the figures are illustrated in the graphs in Appendix B

3 APPENDIX D Types of Examination Malpractices Recorded in BECE Bringing Foreign Material into the Examination Hall Collusion reported by Supervisor/Invigilator/Inspectors Collusion detected in Scripts Impersonation Inadequate particulars on Answer Booklet Others* Total 1,083 1, Total of No. Sat 345, , , *Others include candidates who went out of the examination rooms to refer to books, sought and/or obtained assistance from noncandidates, received messages on mobile phones etc.

4 DISTRICT APPENDIX C THE WEST AFRICAN EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL, ACCRA APRIL 2012 BASIC EDUCATION CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION NUMBER OF CANDIDATES INVOLVED IN MALPRACTICES BY DISTRICT NO. OF CANDIDATES INVOLVED DISTRICT NO. OF CASES CANDIDATES INVOLVED UPPER WEST ASHANTI Wa Municipal 5 Kumasi Metro** 43 Wa West** 72 Offinso 2 GREATER ACCRA Ejisu Juaben* 10 Accra Metro 14 Asante Akim North* 15 Ashaiman Municipal** 43 Adansi West** 51 EASTERN Atwima Nwabiagya** 49 New Juabeng 1 Ahafo Ano North** 31 West Akim 3 Ahafo Ano South 1 Akwapim South 3 Amansie East 6 CENTRAL Adansi South** 56 Twifo Hemang 3 Adansi North** 25 Asikuma Odoben Brakwa 3 Bosome Freno* 16 Assin North* 14 Atwima Kwanwoma 3 Gomoa East 4 BRONG AHAFO Upper Denkyira West* 16 Sunyani Metro* 17 WESTERN Wenchi* 10 Sefwi Wiawso** 23 Techiman Municipal* 14 Wassa Amenfi 4 Berekum** 36 Mpohor Wassa East 2 Dormaa 5 Jomoro 4 Asunafo North* 12 Ahanta West 1 Pru** 45 Bia* 19 Tain 7 Wassa Amenfi 3 Sunyani West** 21 Prestea Huni Valley 5 VOLTA NORTHERN Ho Municipal** 21 East Dagomba* 15 Hohoe 6 East Gonja** 35 Nkwanta South 5 Bole 6 Adaklu Anyigbe 5 West Mamprusi 2 UPPER EAST Nanumba North 3 Bongo 7 Builsa 1

5 Districts which did not record any irregularity have not been listed. *Districts which recorded between 10 and 20 candidates who engaged in the malpractice. ** Districts which recorded 20 or more candidates who engaged in the malpractice. Numbers of Candidates Involved in Examination Malpractices for the BECE REGION ASHANTI BRONG AHAFO CENTRAL EASTERN GREATER ACCRA NORTHERN UPPER EAST UPPER WEST VOLTA WESTERN TOTAL 1,083 1,

6 NUMBER OF CANDIDATES NUMBER OF CANDIDATES APPENDIX B Numbers of candidates involved in Examination Malpractices for the BECE ASHANTI BRONG AHAFO CENTRAL EASTERN GREATER ACCRA REGION Number of Candidates Involved in Examination Malpractices for the BECE NORTHERN UPPER EAST UPPER WEST VOLTA WESTERN REGION

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