The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is mounting a spirited defence about allegations of cheating that occurred during the recent WASSCE examinations. Indeed, they argue that it is premature to make any suggestion of cheating as that assessment can only be conclusively made after the papers have been marked.
WAEC has described several reports of widespread leakage of examination questions and answers on social media platforms as false. Head of National Office (HNO) of WAEC, Wendy E. Addy-Lamptey explained that the thing that can tell us the truth as to whether cheating has gone on or not is the statistics.
Bodies including the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) and National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) have expressed their displeasure over the several reports of leaked papers – of which some have been admitted by WAEC – affecting the credibility of the exams.
We believe not only these bodies that have a stake in education are worried, but the populace as a whole will be disturbed by such developments with many calling for stringent measures to deal with it.
Mrs. Addy-Lamptey emphasised the stress the council is going through due to the activities of rogue websites and WhatsApp groups.
“Prior to dates set for the various papers to be written by candidates, some of these sites predicted questions and topics, others uploaded pictures of past questions.
Also, some managed to obtain snapshots of the actual question paper after the start of the examination, forwarded the same to be worked out and sent the solutions to candidates thus creating the desperate need for some candidates to send their phones to the examination hall to receive solutions.”
Digital dishonesty is part of the digital world and as the world moves more and more towards a digital environment, such occurrences are expected. Cybercrime is a challenge to the banking sector, among others, that is increasingly going digital. Banks only have to improve their surveillance and vigilance and we believe the same portends to rogue websites and whatsapp groups.
It is good that WAEC has come to clear the air on this worrying trend that could compromise the institutions’ integrity. The wrong impression would have been created had they not pointed to where the problem stems from.
Even as we move towards a digital economy, we also have to be a step ahead of the throes of cybercrime.
