Kofi Asare suggests ways to curb exam fraud

According to Mr. Kofi Asare, the advocate and Executive Director for Eduwatch, “the hypocrisy and political blame games aren’t a solution” to the exam fraud. The lens to approach the canker should be free of politics and blame games.

Examination fraud has been a headache for ages. It is one of those “tools” that makes it difficult for many to believe the mass pass recorded in any examination even though the candidates might have worked for the grades genuinely.

Suggesting a way out, Mr. Kofi Asare, an advocate for the best educational practices has listed the applicable ways to end this canker devouring the sector.

If we really want to confront exam room collusion/exam fraud head-on:

WAEC should stop using teachers/GES staff as invigilators and supervisors. Teachers invigilating and supervising an external exam of their own students is a Corruption Risk. In complicit schools, there is always a gang of teachers who are the first-line beneficiaries of exam fraud. They make the profit.

CSOs, religious groups can do this job, just as they have always done in elections monitoring.

GES should dismiss teachers who engage in exam fraud. Outright dismissal will deter.

GES should remove WASSCE and BECE pass rates (outcome indicators) as KPIs for school heads and replace with output indicators. The outcome-based KPIs drives some school heads to either sponsor or condone collusion between teachers and candidates to meet targets.

GES should enforce their own ban on mobile phones. No one will enforce it for them. For now, it is very difficult to find a final-year SHS student without a mobile phone.

The hypocrisy and political blame games aren’t a solution.

SOURCE: Coverghana.com.gh