A Former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Professor Stephen Adei, is advocating for universities in the country to conduct entrance exams for applicants, since the quality of results from the WASSCE cannot be trusted in the wake of constant leakage of examination papers.
Prof. Adei’s call follows the recent reported leakage in the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The Oral English, Integrated Science and Social Studies papers were reportedly leaked with pictures on social media showing students solving the questions.
A similar incident occurred in 2015 during the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), which led to the cancellation of the leaked papers.
Professor Adei intimated that, the integrity of the exams conducted at the High School level, should be improved or else tertiary institutions in the country will cease the admission of students with certificates from WAEC.
“I don’t see any reason why the main universities cannot conduct their own entrance examination. I think it’s getting to a time whereby if these things continue they will not accept WAEC results. I think there must be alternatives but the alternatives may be the universities conducting their own examination,” he noted.
WAEC boss must resign
The former Rector in an interview with Citi News, also backed calls for the leadership of WAEC to resign over the leakage.
He argued that the best thing for WAEC to do now is to accept responsibility for their continuous failure to uphold the integrity of their exams. Prof. Adei wants WAEC to take an introspective look at the its processes in order to improve the system.
“For the past two years, there’s been some examination malpractices except that it is much more grand and they are using social media so that as soon as it leaks in one school, then immediately it goes everywhere. So the situation is getting very serious.”
Prof. Adei said, “first of all, whoever is responsible, the leadership of WAEC must accept responsibility. They must not accept responsibility and only say we are investigating. In other countries, somebody will resign because somebody will accept responsibility for that.”
“I think that we are allowing people commit wrongs without any consequences…unless we start dealing with people in high places who allow certain things including corruption go under them, we are not going to get anywhere.”