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Any supervisor or invigilator caught engaging in examination malpractice in this year's West African Senior School Certificate Examination for School Candidates (WASSCE-SC) will be dismissed, the Ghana Education Service (GES) has warned.
It said the GES Council had given the service the power to dismiss any supervisor or invigilator found to have assisted candidates to cheat.
The GES, therefore, advised supervisors and invigilators to comport themselves and refrain from acts that could bring the examination into disrepute.
The acting Director General of the GES, Professor Ernest Kofi Davis, said this at a press conference in Accra yesterday to brief the media on the 2025 WASSCE.
"We know the effect of examination malpractice on the integrity of the certificates and the education system as a whole so they shouldn't do it.
We want to protect the integrity of our examinations.
"The information for them is that they will be dismissed because if they are caught.
The GES council has given GES the power to dismiss invigilators and supervisors who are caught indulging in examination malpractices," he said.
He called for support from all stakeholders to ensure smooth and successful examinations devoid of collusion and other forms of malpractice.
Responding to questions on arrangements that have been put in place for candidates at the Bawku Senior High School (SHS) and Zuarungu SHS, both in the Upper East Region, Nalerigu SHS in the North East Region, as well as Nkwanta SHS in the Oti Region, he said there would be a heavy security presence in those schools.
“So, we are in touch with the security agencies there; the students would have a security presence and would have some security escort.
“So, we are working collaboratively with the security to ensure that we have incident-free examinations.
So, you are right, we are in conflict so we are ready to get the students to take the exams,” he emphasised.
Regarding Nkwanta SHS, he said there would be security posts at the school to ensure that candidates were well protected.
“I just spoke with the head of security there. We are getting the security presence in the school.
The security will be there to ensure that there is law and order.
“So, they will have security posts in the school and students are going to take the exams in the school under security protection. I can confirm that because I just had a conversation with the head of security,” he assured.
The 2025 WASSCE-SC commences today with practical examinations.
The written papers will begin on August 20 and end on September 19.
In all, 65 subjects will be taken by candidates, but each candidate will take an average of eight subjects.
A total of 461,640 candidates across the country are expected to sit for the examination.
This number is made up of 207,381 male candidates and 254,259 female candidates.
The examination will be conducted in about 701 examination centres across the country.
Prof. Davis said the GES would collaborate with WAEC and the security agencies to ensure law and order during the examination.
He congratulated the candidates and wished them all the best in the examination and admonished them to prepare very well for the papers.
“They should apply themselves to their books and ensure that they do independent work during the examination. I will advise them not to rely on “apo” or external help because that will not come.
We are sure that that will not happen in the examination.
“They shouldn't engage in any form of malpractice because that will attract severe punishment and we don't want them to find themselves in that situation.
All is set for the practical exams to begin tomorrow. Everything is in place.
Meanwhile, the GES has released GH¢15,849,920 to cover the practical fees of the 2025 WASSCE nationwide.
In a related development, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has also cautioned candidates, supervisors and invigilators to desist from any form of illegality as this year’s WASSCE-SC begins today with project work in Basketry, Ceramics, Graphic Design, Jewellery and Leatherworks, among others..
It said all the necessary security measures had been put in place to ensure a smooth conduct of the examination and also deal with any malpractice.
The Head of Public Affairs of WAEC, John Kapi, who made this known in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said personnel from the WAEC head office, Ghana Education Service (GES) and security operatives from the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) would be deployed to monitor the examination.
“We are going to deploy personnel from the head office who are going to monitor the examination.
“We have personnel from the Ghana Education Service (GES) who are also going to monitor, as well as security agents from the NIB,” he said.
Mr Kapi said the council was sure that with the measures that had been put in place and the monitoring teams that had been put in place, everything would be under control.
He advised persons who had been tasked to man the examination centres to take a cue from those who were prosecuted in the recent Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
WAEC, he said, was set for the conduct of the examination, beginning with the practicals.
“We have provided all the natural logistics for the centres.
The attendance examiners who are going to supervise the practicals and the project work have also been dispatched.
“So, all candidates have also received the instructions and the questions, papers they are going to use for the project work and so everything is set. We are on course, ready to start.
“So, all those who intend to do that should take a cue from whatever has happened and distance themselves from it,” he said
The 2025 WASSCE-SC is the fourth edition of the Ghana Only Version of the WASSCE after the other four-member countries of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) —
Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone and The Gambia — returned to the May/June calendar for WASSCE School Candidates.
