GES staff as invigilators BECE, WASSCE security threat – EduWatch

Africa Education Watch (EduWatch) has called on the Ministry of Education to stop using Ghana Education Service (GES) staff as invigilators and supervisors to oversee national and international examinations like BECE and WASSCE.

The education think tank in a statement shared with AcademicWeek said the use of Ghana Education Service (GES) staff as supervisors is a major flaw in the security arrangement of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination.

“This is because many of them have vested interests in the outcome of the examinations and are potentially in conflict-of-Interest. The number of GES staff arrested over the years for colluding with candidates to cheat affirms this position,” it stated.

Africa Education Watch has therefore urged the Ministry of Education to resource the West African Examinations Council to recruit adequate non-Ghana Education Service (GES) external supervisors at every centre during every paper.

In a related development, the non-profit-making organization (WAEC) has expressed worry over the conduct of some teachers of the Ghana Education Service playing a role as invigilators in the ongoing Basic Education Certificate Examination.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic newspaper, a spokesman for the Council, Jonh Kapi said teachers who are supposed to know better are rather assisting prospective candidates sitting for the national examination to cheat in the BECE.

He indicated after handling teachers involved in any form of examination malpractice the police, the Examinations Council will also report them to the Ghana Education Service since the supervisors and invigilators are staff of the GES.

Insisting candidates are capable of passing the exam without any external support, the Head of the Public Affairs of WAEC has consequently called on teachers and examination officials to allow the candidates to do independent work.

“Candidates are more than capable to answer the questions because the questions were based on what they had been taught in the three years that they were in Junior High School. So, we think that each of them is capable of passing by doing independent work

For the teachers, we need them to show a level of integrity by allowing the children they taught to give testimony of whatever it is that they have offered them in the classroom,” the WAEC official told the Daily Graphic newspaper.