The Ghana Education Service (GES) has intensified efforts to clamp down on examination malpractice in the country ahead of this year’s Basic Education Examination Certificate (BECE) and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The GES organized a multi-stakeholder forum in the Northern Region on April 30, 2026, as part of a nationwide campaign to tackle the menace.
A Research Assistant Officer at the GES headquarters, Fuseini Abdul Somed, in an interview, said data on examination malpractice is widespread nationwide.
He noted management of the Ghana Education Service has therefore found it necessary to acknowledge its existence, confront it and liaise with the relevant stakeholders to address the problem extensively.
Mr. Fuseini said the individuals and organisations that participated in the forum demonstrated that the problem is being handled in a broader perspective.
”We want everybody to play a role. We realised that if examination malpractice is allowed to thrive, we’re denying the students an opportunity to make genuine mistakes, learn from the mistakes, and become competent individuals after graduating from school,” he stated.
The Research Assistant emphasised that students who are allowed to engage in exam malpractice will only grow up to become corrupt and dishonest in society.
”We realised that if examination malpractice thrives, it poses a threat to national development and national security.
”There is a saying that if you want to destroy a nation just lower the standards of their education; you don’t need a missile, you don’t need a bullet and in the hands of students who graduate from that system, nurses from that system will kill patients, and judges will altercate justice in their practice”, he added.
For his part, the GES Northern Regional Public Relations Officer, Mr. Owusu Frederick, said in an exclusive interview that all logistics for the conduct of the upcoming WASSCE and BECE are all set.
”As a directorate, I just want to put it across that preparations are far advanced; all logistics are ready for these exams” he stated.
He outlined that one major activity of the Regional Directorate is the fight against exam malpractice, stressing that examination integrity is a priority of the Regional Director of Education.
Meanwhile, a total of 37,111 candidates from 808 schools will sit for the examination across 132 examination centres in the Northern Region.
This comprises 19,026 male students and 18,085 female students expected to participate in the examination from 631 public schools and 177 Private Schools .
To ensure a smooth and credible examination process, a total of 132 supervisors, 130 assistant supervisors, and 1,321 invigilators would be deployed for the weeklong examination.
