From Promise to Peril: How Exam Fraud is Eroding Ghana’s Educational Soul

From Promise to Peril: How Exam Fraud is Eroding Ghana’s Educational Soul

In the heart of West Africa, Ghana has established itself as a country with a robust educational system that promises upward mobility, a brighter future, and national development for its youth. However, Ghana’s education system, once a beacon of hope and brighter future, as well as a cornerstone of national development, is facing a grave threat: the growing and insidious challenge of examination fraud, ranging from the circulation of leaked examination papers on social media to sophisticated collusion at examination halls. For instance, on a July morning in an examination hall in Kumasi, a Junior High School (JHS) candidate for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) slid a folded paper under his desk: a mobile number and an amount of money, scrawled beside the plea, “Help me, please.”

This incident is both an attempt and a symptom – a glimpse of a deepening and widening ecosystem of examination fraud that now ranges from compromised supervisors and invigilators to “rogue” telegram channels. What was once a widespread local practice known as “apor” has now metamorphosed into an organized market. The West African Examination Council (WAEC) oversees some of the country’s basic education critical examinations, including the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the West African Senior Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

Despite the organization’s strict supervision measures and beneath this veneer of promise, a dangerously growing peril: raging examination fraud. Thus, Ghana’s education architecture – that was once hailed as a beacon of opportunity – is now being eroded and threatened by malpractices that devalue qualifications, erode trust, and threaten the spine of Ghana’s education. As examination malpractice or fraud penetrates deeper into our education system, stakeholders and experts warn of a crisis that could compromise the knowledge and skills of generations.

The Rise of Examination Fraud: Prevalence and Forms

The menace described above is not just a moral panic; it is measurable. For instance, in a statement referenced in the Parliament of Ghana, examination malpractices tracked by WAEC increased from 0.9% in 2018 to 10.1% in 2023, highlighting a steep multi-year surge. Also, a July report revealed that 146,309 WASSCE candidates were involved in examination malpractices across four years – a sobering picture of systemic risk. Also, when the BECE results were released in November 2023, WAEC reported that the scripts of 22,270 candidates were flagged for suspected mass examination malpractices (cheating), including AI-assisted cheating, and were placed under scrutiny – some of which were later canceled.

In June 2025, WAEC confirmed 16 arrests in the BECE, including 12 invigilators and a supervisor – over phone-aided cheating and leaks of examination questions. Similarly, other reports cited 10 arrests, including exam officials. Statistics paint a grim picture of the situation. Per a 2023 analysis, the rate of examination result cancellations because of malpractice in Ghana has skyrocketed from 0.13% in 2014 to 0.81% in 2023 – a monumental 600% rise. One would think that inside the examination halls, students would be unable to carry out such heinous acts; however, in 2025, WACE officials detailed some disturbing cases involving invigilators dictating answers to students and others photographing question papers for circulation online. These are not isolated blots; they are patterns.

And each examination year that this pattern persists, the legitimacy of Ghanaian certificates – the hard currency of social mobility – depreciates. Regionally, the Ashanti Region stands out as a hotspot. In August 2025, the Ghana Education Service (GES) revealed that more than 70 out of 144 Senior High Schools (SHSs) were cited for examination malpractices, representing over half of the SHSs in the region.

How Did We Get Here? The Pipeline of Malpractice

• Commercialized leaks & “rogue” platforms: In years past, WAEC and state security agencies have collaborated to arrest operators behind WhatsApp groups and websites that trade purported leaks. The model used by these criminals is simple: harvest desperation, monetize it, and atomize accountability.
• Compromised gatekeepers: The crescendo of cases involving supervisors and invigilators, spanning from arrests to findings that officials dictated answers, highlights a breach where integrity should be strongest.
• High-stakes incentives: When school reputations, parents’ hopes, and teacher bonuses hinge on a single examination, the demand curve shortcuts steepen. Media analysis and research have repeatedly revealed that exam-centric pressure is a major driver, alongside weak, uneven, and delayed sanctions.
• Uneven application of technology: WAEC has introduced question serialization and has worked with national security agencies during examinations – significant steps that make mass collusion difficult. However, serialization, as well as other controls, must be consistently and flawlessly implemented, and paired with last-mile discipline.

The Erosion of Ghana’s Educational Soul: Far-Reaching

The consequences of examination malpractice/fraud go beyond individual penalties. It devalues Ghanaian qualifications at the international level, creating a culture of dishonesty and incompetence where Ghanaian graduates lack genuine skills. Consequently, employers increasingly question the credibility of academic certificates, leading to higher unemployment and brain drain. Societally, it erodes trust in institutions; as one report stated, cheating has increased yearly, instigating public outrage and diminishing the “educational soul” that once symbolized national pride.

Economically, the ripple effects are monumental. Fraudulent credentials contribute to inefficiencies in the country’s workforce, depriving the country of innovation and growth. In a 2023 study, self-reported cheating among alumni and students was connected to broader ethical lapses in professional life. For students, the pressure to pass their exams through dishonest means perpetuates inequality, disadvantaging those who play by the rules.

What is the Way Forward for Ghana: A Practical, Ghana-ready Blueprint

1. Harden the Last Mile of Paper Security

• Time-locked, encrypted logistics: From depot to examination halls or desk with center-level audit trails.
• “No phone” perimeter with active screening: Logged sweeps mid-examination hours, handled metal detectors at entry and random, immediate dismissal and prosecution for any official with a device inside the examination halls. (A 2024 study suggested metal detectors and serialization as viable measures).

2. Protect and Professionalize Invigilation

• Body-worn cameras: Pilot the use of body cameras by invigilators at high-risk examination centres. Footage should be stored securely and reviewed for audits.
• Credentialed invigilation corps: Recruit certified, trained, and insured invigilators with on-time allowances paid electronically before postings to eliminate the “I was not paid” excuse – a risk mentioned by several reports and studies as a major driver.

3. Target the supply chain of leaks

• Joint WAEC-Cybercrime tasking: This should be done during exam periods, with standing court orders for rapid takedown of WhatsApp/Telegram groups and prosecution of admins. Also, past arrests of “rogue” operators show that enforcement is possible.

4. Protect honest students—and make reporting easy.

• Anonymous, reward-based tip lines (USSD + WhatsApp) for students/teachers to report improprieties in real time.
• Amnesty window at the start of each paper for voluntary surrender of devices, no questions asked—after which penalties are automatic.

5. Reform assessment—lower the single-exam pressure.

• Reweight continuous assessment (externally moderated) to count meaningfully toward certification, reducing the “all-or-nothing” incentive that feeds cheating.
• More curriculum-embedded practicals and coursework with randomized viva checks to verify authorship.
• Gradual, fit-for-purpose CBT pilots—start with objective components (not essays) in urban centers with reliable power, then scale; WAEC has region-wide conversations on CBT/modernization—Ghana should lead carefully, not rush.

6. Build a transparent integrity dashboard.

• A public, live dashboard (by region/district/center) showing reported incidents, arrests, withheld scripts, and case outcomes. Sunlight shifts behavior. (WAEC already publishes rules, timelines, and withheld results notices—consolidate and visualize it.)

What ordinary stakeholders can do—today

Parents: stop paying for “apor.” Demand integrity contracts from schools you patronize.

Teachers: refuse pressure to “help” in halls; push for fair invigilator allowances in advance.

Students: treat leaks as traps; cancelled results can erase years of effort. WAEC Ghana

Media & CSOs: track centers with repeat incidents; celebrate model schools where integrity holds under pressure.

If we do nothing

An education system that lets fraud metastasize teaches a brutal civic lesson: that rules are negotiable. When that lesson graduates into public service and private enterprise, we all pay — through corruption, unsafe bridges, poor clinical decisions, and a democracy bent by cynicism.

Ghana’s talent has always been its comparative advantage. The country cannot afford to let the gateway credential to that talent become negotiable. This fight is winnable—if we move from episodic crackdowns to a whole-system integrity redesign where logistics, incentives, technology, and transparency reinforce one another.

References

Parliament of Ghana (remarks noting growth from 0.9% in 2018 to 10.1% in 2023). Accessed: https://www.parliament.gh/floor?dis=22&utm

Daily Graphic: “146,309 WASSCE candidates involved in malpractice in 4 years” (July 31, 2025). Accessed: https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/education/ghana-news-146-309-wassce-candidates-involved-in-examination-malpractice-in-4-years.html?utm

GhanaWeb & GBC reports on BECE 2023 scrutiny of 22,270 scripts; WAEC cancellations/withheld results. Accessed: https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/BECE-2023-Subject-results-of-22-270-candidates-could-be-cancelled-over-cheating-WAEC-1878467?utm

GBC Ghana & NewsGhana: 2025 BECE arrests; invigilators among suspects. Accessed: https://www.gbcghanaonline.com/news/16-arrested-for-malpractice-in-2025-bece-including-12-invigilators-waec/2025/?utm

ModernGhana: detailed accounts of invigilator misconduct and arrests during 2025/2024 sessions. Accessed: https://www.modernghana.com/news/1408459/2025-waec-16-arrested-for-malpractices.html?utm

Graphic Online: WAEC malpractice-control measures, including serialization and security collaboration. Accessed: https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ghana-news-2022-wassce-waec-puts-in-measures-to-curb-malpractice.html?utm

CitiNewsroom: WAEC serialization plan (2023); CCTV/e-marking initiative (2019). Accessed: https://citinewsroom.com/2023/08/waec-to-serialise-some-subjects-in-2023-wassce/?utm

MyJoyOnline: policy analysis and study recommendations (metal detectors, CBT, timely payment for supervisors). Accessed: https://www.myjoyonline.com/wassce-malpractice-on-the-rise-study-reveals/?utm

WAEC Ghana notices & FAQs: rules on cancellations and exam conduct. Accessed: https://waecgh.org/2025/?utm