The West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) has announced that individuals arrested for infractions during the ongoing Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) are being processed for court.
Over nine individuals have been apprehended so far.
In a statement released on Tuesday, WAEC emphasized that detailed briefing sessions were held with District Directors of Education and Supervisors before the examination to outline new rules, including a strict
prohibition on mobile phones at examination centers.
“Among other things, the supervisors were informed that they were prohibited from bringing along mobile phones to the examination centres. A stern warning was issued against this practice,” the statement read.
However, several supervisors ignored this directive and were subsequently arrested by the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) and WAEC’s locally recruited agents, before being handed over to the police.
At the Save Our Souls Educational Centre in Bekwai, three teachers—Patience Serwaah, Oscar Ben Azumah, and Thomas Gyimadu—were arrested for attempting to assist candidates.
WAEC noted, “Other persons who were unrelated to the examination but came around attempting to assist the candidates are Christian Osei and Kyei Baffour Alex.”
The statement also highlighted incidents at various centers: two invigilators at Jinijini Senior High School were caught taking snapshots of English Language question papers and sharing them on WhatsApp.
At Nkoranza Senior High School, invigilator Abeam Danso was found with a mobile phone containing answers to the Religious and Moral Education questions.
Additional arrests were made at Chemu Senior High School, Liberty Hills School, and Jachie Pramso SHS for similar offenses involving mobile phones and unauthorized assistance to candidates.
In another incident, teachers from DESVY International School were found on a school bus solving Science questions for transmission to students at the Santoe Basic School center.
Those involved, including Thomas Ativor, Emmanuel Ammisah, Edwin Goodluck, and Richard Boateng, have all been reported to the police. WAEC concluded, “They have all been reported to the police and are being processed for court.”
