The Upper East Regional Chairman of the National Association of Graduate Teachers, John Akunze, has warned that persistent examination malpractice could damage the credibility of Ghana’s educational system and devalue certificates awarded to students.
Speaking on Dreamz FM’s Dreamz News during a phone interview, Akunze backed the Ghana Education Service’s strict caution against examination malpractice ahead of this year’s West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
He said teachers who volunteer to supervise examinations must act with integrity and avoid aiding candidates to cheat.
“Once you decide to supervise, make sure that you don’t cheat because there are sanctions,” he said.
Akunze argued that weak enforcement of sanctions over the years has emboldened some teachers and school authorities to engage in malpractice.
According to him, although teachers, headteachers and invigilators have previously been implicated in examination irregularities, many offenders escaped severe punishment.
“They catch them and certain times they leave them free,” he said. “So WAEC and GES have emboldened these examination malpractices.”
The NAGRAT chairman said examination fraud undermines academic standards and weakens confidence in Ghanaian certificates both locally and internationally.
“The certificate will not have value. It will bring disgrace to Ghana,” he stated.
He added that some students who obtain good grades through dishonest means later struggle academically at tertiary institutions or in the workplace because they lack the competence reflected in their results.
Akunze partly blamed the situation on inadequate preparation of students, lack of teaching and learning materials, and pressure on schools to record high pass rates.
Meanwhile, the National Oversight Committee on Secondary Education Reforms has begun a week-long monitoring exercise in the Upper East Region to assess the implementation of reforms in selected senior high and senior high technical schools.
The exercise will evaluate areas including school improvement plans, guidance and counselling activities, tablet distribution and student transcript portals across 11 schools in the region.
