Fire on the mountain as over 2000 BECE candidates face investigation over exam malpractice

Over 2,000 candidates who took this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) are under investigation by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) due to suspected malpractice.

The candidates have been invited to WAEC’s offices to answer questions about alleged irregularities detected during the exams.

The council is withholding the results of some subjects for these candidates until the investigations are complete.

Parents of the affected candidates have been accompanying them to WAEC’s offices in the Ashanti Region, expressing their concerns about the situation.

One parent told Citi News, “I received a message from her headteacher about the situation, so I decided to come here with her. It’s very unfortunate that they’ve asked her to join them in the room. I’m waiting for her to return to know what transpired.”

A headteacher who is also a WAEC centre supervisor confirmed the situation, stating, “My daughter is part of those who wrote the BECE. I had a message that we should come to WAEC. They said there were irregularities with the exams they wrote. So, we have been here for them to check it.”

The West African Examination Council on November 9, 2023, revealed that the scripts of 22,270 candidates, in certain subjects have been withheld and are being scrutinized for reported cases of mass cheating.

According to WAEC, their results may be cancelled or released based on the outcome of investigations.

This was revealed after WAEC released the provisional results of candidates who sat for the 2023 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) for both public schools and private candidates.

Source: Citinewsroom