“WASSCE results: Real or fiction”- Kofi Asare breaks down and calls on GES to strengthen sanctions for teachers who partake in exam centre fraud

The Executive Director for Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch), Mr. Kofi Asare, has detailed the insights of WASSCE results from the perspective of some authorities and immediate teachers of the students and investments in Basic education.

Mr. Kofi Asare in his public submission writes

WASSCE RESULTS: REAL OR FICTION?

Weeks ago, in a meeting with the Finance Minister and Deputies to do budget influencing, when I was busy strategizing on my submitting for public basic education investments, I was surprised the representatives from public universities who presented earlier spent much of their time on basic education than tertiary.

They took the wind out of my sail. Why?

The two Professors from GIMPA and UG wanted more investments in basic education because according to them, the quality of human beings being shipped to tertiary after SHS kept declining.

According to the two economics professors, deficits in foundational skills-written English especially was a major problem for lecturers. However, all these students had passed WASSCE very very well.

Since the 2023 WASSCE results were released, I have received many messages to the effect that some students do not own their results.

One teacher is worried his student who cannot solve a linear equation question had an A in Mathematics.

In Eduwatch and Corruption Watch’s undercover WASSCE investigation of 2021, a guardian in the Bekwai area questioned why his nephew who apparently had an aggregate of 10 wouldn’t proceed to College of Education or university.

The boy insisted on joining the army, even after failing to make it at first instance.

The boy’s uncle doubted his grades. Later, after pushing him, he confessed that teachers wrote for them at their centre. I still have the audio interview the Corruption Watch team had with the parent in Kokofu on my phone.

Till date, I am aware the head teachers and teachers who supervised the cheating in those schools we did our undercover exercise are still at post.

Schools, including the private ones, are still exam centres. A Management in Living tutor at St Jerome SHS caught on video dictating answers in a big exam hall is now an Assistant Head in another school.

I also know of schools where the school heads were so firm at exam centres that the students even felt nervous; some heads wouldn’t compromise at all.

Other heads were so principled, causing communities to demonstrate against them leading to their eventual transfer for safety reasons. Eg. Baglo Ridge SHS. (I have this video too)

While very good progress has been made to very significantly reduce (if not eliminate) question leakages with the BNI now taking over questions security at printing, there are still serious issues with exam room collusion and supervised cheating, as WAEC admits in their presentation to parliament last week.

Notwithstanding, these challenges and deficits must not take the shine off the 2023 WASSCE results.

There are always many genuine ones and some bad ones.

The Ghana Education Service must strengthen its sanctions regime for teachers who participate in exam centre fraud. The current sanctions regime is not deterrent. Outright dismissal is the way to go.

We can only improve the ratios!

SOURCE: Coverghana.com.gh