A candidate who cannot write if dictated to had “B”; no wonder, she won’t attempt tertiary; she wants fire service” -SHS headmaster remarked
The matters arising after the release of the WASSCE results have moved high.
A concerned SHS Headmaster in a conversation with the renowned education advocate and Executive Director for Eduwatch, Mr. Kofi Asare has once again shared a convo with some SHS Heads whom he knows personally from the University of Cape Coast (UCC).
According to his narration, one of the Heads said “When a candidate we all know cannot even write answers when dictated to her gets B, you must be worried..no wonder she won’t attempt tertiary; she wants fire service”.
Mr. Asare shared two (2) of the remarks and continued. “As a country, we must confront this cancer without excuses and stop pretending it does not affect exam results and the quality of human capital.”
Full convo below
EXAM ROOM COLLUSION: CONVO WITH SHS HEADS.
Yesterday, I spoke to 13 SHS heads from 8 regions. They are people I know personally from UCC.
I sought to find out about the exam room collusion situation in SHS before 2018 when Eduwatch did not even exist. Our monitoring started in 2020.
I learnt the following:
Just like Galamsay, exam room collusion did not start now. Ten years ago, WAEC experimented with moving teachers from their schools to supervise in other schools. This was obviously because of the issues of collusion then.
Exam room collusion has, however, escalated to dizzy heights in recent times, as alluded to by WAEC. It’s virtually out of control, especially in lower-category schools.
The drivers:
Mobile phone proliferation in SHS
Profit/business to those bad teachers who collude
lack of prosecution by law enforcement
Weak sanctions by GES
Weak supervision by WAEC
WASSCE league table/rankings
Cheating culture inherited from JHS
Pressure from community leaders
The escalation has nothing to do with the fact that there is a free SHS policy.
EFFECT ON WASSCE RESULTS
Exam room collusion leads to beneficiary candidates holding certificates that do not reflect their true competencies; they gave many examples of this. I also shared a few we came across in our 4 years of investigating exam fraud in Ghana.
Two interesting ones:
“When a candidate we all know cannot even write answers when dictated to her gets B, you must be worried wonder she won’t attempt tertiary; she wants fire service”. One headmaster remarked.
I told them the story of a lady who entered a public university to read BEd with an aggregate of 12. That year, she had the best entry grade in the department, becoming the ‘poster girl’ at matriculation.
My checks later revealed she attended one of the WASSCE tourism schools in Brong Ahafo. Eduwatch has a tall list of WASSCE tourism schools in Bono, Ahafo, Central, Ashanti, and Accra.
Once you pay, you get your A. Very simple!
WAEC, GES, MoE, Parliament, etc are all aware so don’t ask me anything. We are tired of reporting without action.
After semester one, her best grade was E. As usual, she would be sent home.
The HoD was concerned and confused, knowing her entry grades. When HoD inquired, the lady said her dad’s death two days before the exam affected her performance.
HoD requested she reapplied; and gave her money for forms. This was in 2016.
We are still waiting for her application in 2023. The last time HoD followed up, the lady said she wants to join police.
As a country, we must confront this cancer without excuses and stop pretending it does not affect exam results and the quality of human capital.
Downplaying it or politicizing its genesis to achieve a political objective is an unpatriotic act to the nation.
SOURCE: Coverghana.com.gh
