Ghana’s Education Ministry has urged 509,862 candidates sitting the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) to reject cheating, while issuing a zero-tolerance warning to invigilators, teachers, and school officials across the country.
The candidates are drawn from 1,020 schools writing across 1,017 centres nationwide. Female candidates number 284,588, outpacing the 225,274 males registered. The cohort represents a 10.4 percent increase over last year’s enrollment, reflecting growing participation in the national examination.
Deputy Education Minister Dr Clement Abas Apaak signed the Ministry’s press release, warning that any candidate caught cheating faces paper cancellation, disqualification, and possible legal sanctions.
“No examination result is worth jeopardizing one’s future,” the statement read.
The warning extended firmly to adults. The Ministry reminded invigilators and school officials of the arrest of 43 teachers during the recently concluded Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), citing those cases as evidence that enforcement actions are real and ongoing.
Authorities are also weighing a proposal to publish the names and photographs of adults caught engaging in examination fraud, a measure aimed at strengthening public deterrence.
The Ministry called on parents and security agencies to join efforts in protecting the credibility of the results and urged all candidates to remain calm, focused, and disciplined throughout the examination period.
