Collaborate for academic integrity

Throughout the years, Ghana has encountered some misconduct during examination in both the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE)

These misconduct and acceptability entails conspiracy, taking in unauthorized materials and disguise in examination halls.
These clearly come with bad effects– the cancellation and the holding back of results till inquiries comes to an end.

Example, backing the conclusion of inquiries into some issues of misconduct encountered in the time of the activities of the 2024 BECE and marking of scripts, the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) cancelled 377 school students and 3 private students subject results for the unlawful acts of sending in unacceptable materials into the examination room or participating in conspiracy with other students. Once more, all the results of 41 school candidates and one private candidate were cancelled while the all results of 33 school students and three private students were holdback.
Some subject outcomes of students from 149 schools were also announced impropriety
Institutions

The question is: How would our highly regarded institutions such as Ghana Education Service (GES) and the WAEC support us to advance the system?
Its my view that, there must be extreme and rigid system to observe and check centres and candidates by multiplying supervisors and invigilators, and also using professional and qualified officers.

An observation device or camera should be used at all examination centres to keep an eye on who comes in and go out of the territory and halls.
It is necessary for us to have more clear rules and initiatives concerning the effects of the misconduct.
The GES must set up more seminars on academic morality and the significance of working independently. It is also necessary to use. technology to handle other forms of misconduct during examination.

The examination structure must organise and extend the stringify of examination questions to decrease students’ possibilities of copying from their fellow candidate. More proper seating arrangements should be setup to put a stop to conspiracy.
The examination structure must also generate a favourable examination environment for students with verified clear rules concerning conducts and what is expected of students in the time of the examination.

It has been noted that, in recent years, the planned seating arrangement to reduce interruption and put a stop to cheating has been ventured.
It has come to realisation that examinations must not take place in a centre where students are in school, particularly our senior high schools.
They could be given five days off to enhance a well composed and calm environment.

Other efforts to keep under control indiscipline are that much concentration is necessary at where questions are stored before bringing them out.
Digital security is needed if it can be used at all centres. Further more, there is a need for a protected seal and also enough vehicles to transfer the papers to the various centres.
Another matter to tackle is the delaying of the vehicles transporting the examination papers.
At times, candidates had to wait and sit for a while before the arrival of the materials at the centres, particularly the rural areas.

The requirements for GPS tracing instantaneously for the vehicles transfering the examination questions must be taken into consideration in some time to come. In addition, it is very necessary to fight against disguising with a more complicated or strict verification system or procedure with official identification preceding and following written papers.

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