The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has confirmed the arrest of seven teachers for various examination infractions during the ongoing Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
The arrests, facilitated through WAEC’s monitoring systems and information from whistleblowers, were made across multiple regions. In a telephone interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Monday evening, Mr John K. Kapi, Head of Public Affairs at WAEC’s National Office, disclosed that three suspects were apprehended in the Central Region, two in the Bono Region, and two in the Ashanti Region.
According to Mr Kapi, some of the teachers smuggled mobile phones into examination halls to aid malpractice. Preliminary investigations indicate that certain individuals attempted to solve examination questions using external platforms, including artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT, while others captured images of the questions.
He confirmed that all suspects have been handed over to the police for further investigation.
Mr Kapi commended whistleblowers for their role in exposing the malpractice and reaffirmed WAEC’s commitment to maintaining the integrity of the examination process. He noted that the Council had implemented measures to ensure the timely distribution of question papers and answer booklets across all centres.
While acknowledging minor challenges at some locations, Mr Kapi stated that, overall, the conduct of the examination has been satisfactory. He further urged all stakeholders to remain vigilant in efforts to curb examination malpractice.
