Several Ghana Education Service (GES) officials collaborated with exam invigilators, accepting bribes as low as GH¢60 to let candidates cheat during the 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE).
This was uncovered in the recent JoyNews Hotline documentary titled Dark World of BECE, produced by investigative journalist Francisca Enchill of GH Probe.
At Derby Avenue RC Basic School in Accra, investigators discovered that invigilators received daily payments of GH¢60 to ignore students bringing mobile phones into exam halls. Students also used artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT and received pre-solved exam questions from officials.
Similarly, at St. George’s Anglican, supervisors handed out GH¢400 envelopes to invigilators, while students were required to pay fees daily. By the final exam, invigilators had introduced an “Aseda Offertory” scheme, collecting at least GH¢5 from each student as a form of appreciation, with the money pooled and shared among themselves.
John Kapi, Head of Public Affairs at the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), clarified that any payments made to invigilators or supervisors during exams are illegal and are not sanctioned by WAEC.
The investigation also showed that cheating was highly coordinated—invigilators provided answers verbally, distributed handwritten and printed solutions, and gathered evidence before students left exam halls. Supervisors worked as lookouts to avoid detection by WAEC and National Security officials.
Civil society groups have warned that this widespread collusion is normalizing corruption among children. Kofi Asare from Africa Education Watch stated that corruption is being taught in basic schools, leading students to perceive it as acceptable, which could result in a corrupt society in the future.
Prof. Ernest Kofi Davis, Acting Director-General of GES, emphasized that staff found facilitating cheating will face consequences. He said, “We cannot keep staff who cheat. Why allow someone to bring exam questions to students instead of teaching them properly? We wouldn’t want a doctor who cheated in school to operate on us. This must end.”
WAEC reported 43 arrests related to exam malpractice across the country in 2025, involving supervisors, teachers, and administrators. The Council noted that with better resources, it could recruit more trustworthy invigilators to help eradicate cheating.
The full documentary will air on Monday, 8th September 2025, on JoyNews’ AM Show, Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, and Joy Prime’s Prime Morning.
Credit: myjoyonline.com
