Warn WAEC not to leak 2021 BECE papers

Warn WAEC not to leak 2021 BECE papers is the latest call from stakeholders of education in Ghana after the Ghana Education Service in a press statement charged all and sundry to ensure a leakage-free examination.

Examination leakage is one of the worrying annual challenges of the BECE and WASSCE  for school candidates.

The 2021 edition of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) starts on Monday 15th November 2021 and students are expected to be administered with Social Studies and French Language questions by the West African Examination Council (WAEC).

There are groups already on social media which are registering some students, parents, and teachers into what they call VIP groups where they plan to leak questions and answers ahead of the various papers to be written. These groups are charging individuals GHS80.00 for registration and GHS150.00 minimum for question papers. This means WAEC must tighten its security and ensure high-level monitoring before, during, and after the examination on and off social media. 

The GES has in a statement issued by the outfit warned against exam malpractice and called on supervisors, invigilators, parents, students among others to ensure they adhere to the rules governing the examinations but the public does not think cautioning stakeholders is enough. 

While calling on these stakeholders to play their roles as required of them, it is also important that the GES is bold enough to tell WAEC as the examining body not to lose its guard and to prevent the leakage of any of the 2021 BECE papers.

The leaking of examination questions is not done by parents or students instead by either permanent or temporary employees of the examination council who operate with the help of persons who sometimes do not work directly with the council. 

Once the personal selfish interest of permanent or temporary  WAEC employees takes over they end up leaking the examination questions for personal financial gains. The increased hunting for WAEC 2021 BECE questions by BECE candidates in the last few days is worrying and could provide fertile grounds for leakage to flourish. 

The BECE 2021 will be a test case for WAEC to prove that Ghana does not need to alter the monopoly it enjoys as the sole national and international examining body.

The work of Africa Education Watch over the years to date has been revealing and damming. It is important that this year’s BECE is devoid of any form of leakage. A leakage may lead to the rescheduling of the leaked examination questions. 

Unfortunately, some candidates do not have confidence in their total preparation and hold the view that it is the only accessible to leaked BECE 2021 examination questions that would unluck their chances of success in the examination. 

The call for WAEC’s monopoly to be broken will become a legitimate call if the leaking of 2021 BECE papers (questions and answers) is experienced like the WASSCE 2021. Social media continues to help prove or disproof whether questions are leaked and must be one area that WAEC must continue to monitor. 

READ: 2021 BECE Briefing Highlights, Rules and Regulations for officers & candidates

WAEC must put out some phone numbers that ethically upright stakeholders can use to reach them and report susp[ected leakage in record time to ensure swift investigations or arrest of persons engaged in this examination credibility wrecking activities.

READ: BECE starts Monday, GES warns against exam malpractice

Ghanaians will not expect anything less than an incident-free examination from WAEC and the GES this year. The sanctity of the 2021 BECE must be protected, we all have a role to play especially you. 

Source: Wisdom Hammond | Ghanaeducation.org