Examination malpractice in Ghana has become a coordinated systemic problem involving school authorities including teachers, headmasters and invigilators, threatening the credibility of national examinations, according to IMANI Africa Vice President Kofi Bentil. His comments on Saturday come as education stakeholders grapple with explanations for the steep decline in 2025 WASSCE performance and growing concerns about academic integrity across the secondary school system.
Speaking on Key Points on TV3 on December 6, Bentil described cheating as no longer isolated to individual students but embedded in school operations as organized activities. Schools are organizing these things, he stated, warning that the scale of collaboration undermines trust in examination outcomes and masks the true competence levels of students. His remarks align with observations from other education advocates who indicate examination fraud has become an organized activity involving multiple actors beyond the student body.
Kofi Asare, Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, reinforced these concerns during the same television program, revealing that chiefs, parents and teachers are all involved in organizing cheating schemes. He emphasized the problem extends beyond schools to include community leaders and family members who facilitate malpractice, treating examination fraud as a collective effort rather than individual misconduct. The involvement of such varied stakeholders complicates enforcement efforts and signals deep cultural acceptance of cheating in some communities.
The West African Examinations Council has also raised alarm over declining language standards in examination scripts. John Kapi, Head of Public Relations at WAEC, told Channel One TV on Friday that chief examiners detected widespread use of pidgin and social media language in 2025 WASSCE scripts, particularly affecting performance in English Language. Markers identified informal expressions, slang, shorthand and WhatsApp style writing that have no place in formal examination settings.
Chief examiners indicated there was a lot of pidgin in what candidates wrote, alongside references to social media language and jargons commonly used on WhatsApp which are not formal, Kapi explained. Many candidates struggled with basic writing standards including spelling, proper vocabulary usage and appropriate language for essay writing. The trend reflects erosion of academic writing standards and raises questions about language instruction quality in schools.
Chief examiners noted candidates struggled to use appropriate vocabulary to express themselves, especially in sections requiring appropriate synonyms for listed words from passages. They also indicated poor use of language and poor analysis of texts made available to students. The language deficiencies contributed to weaker outcomes in the English paper, compounding broader performance challenges across core subjects.
Kapi stressed that addressing the issue requires coordinated action both at home and within the school system. Parents and teachers must reinforce proper language use from childhood through secondary school to counter the influence of informal digital communication on academic writing. The problem highlights tensions between evolving communication patterns among youth and formal academic standards expected in national examinations.
The 2025 WASSCE results showed one of the steepest performance declines in recent years. Core Mathematics passes with grades A1 to C6 dropped from 305,132 candidates in 2024 to 209,068 in 2025, representing a fall of more than 96,000 passes and translating to a pass rate of just 48.73 percent. Social Studies also experienced significant decline, with the pass rate falling to 55.82 percent from 71.53 percent the previous year.
President John Mahama has ordered a comprehensive investigation into the results, describing them as mind boggling and an issue of great concern to government, parents and the public. He directed Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu to conduct a thorough review of examiners’ reports to identify factors behind the significant drop. The President questioned how one batch could perform so poorly compared to the previous cohort with the same teachers and conditions.
The Ghana Examinations Committee approved cancellation of subject results for 6,295 candidates who brought foreign materials including notes, textbooks and printed materials into examination halls. WAEC cancelled entire results for 653 candidates found possessing mobile phones during the examination. Additionally, 908 candidates had subject results withheld and 158 had entire results withheld pending further investigation.
Education personnel faced severe consequences for involvement in irregularities. Thirty five education personnel including 19 teachers were found complicit in examination irregularities, with 19 persons already convicted with fines or imprisonment and 16 persons awaiting court presentation. WAEC will forward convicted teachers’ names to the Ghana Education Service Director General for additional disciplinary measures.
Between 2017 and 2024, Ghana’s WASSCE results were plagued by systemic malpractice. In 2024 alone, over 532,000 subject results were withheld and nearly 39,000 cancelled, with hundreds of entire results annulled annually. Common infractions during this period included collusion, smuggling of foreign materials, impersonation and digital leaks via social media platforms including WhatsApp and Telegram.
The government and Ghana Education Service implemented a zero tolerance stance on cheating ahead of the 2025 examinations following years of widespread malpractice. Invigilators and supervisors received warnings of immediate dismissal if found aiding malpractice, while candidates were urged to rely on their preparation rather than leaked materials. The crackdown appears to have exposed the true extent of learning deficits previously masked by widespread cheating.
Bentil emphasized that Ghana must confront real issues weakening the country’s education system rather than engage in political debates about examination performance. He indicated the current situation demands a bipartisan approach, especially as recent outcomes reflect deeper structural problems. The poor performance is not so much a problem of the students but rather the system, which is fraught with several weaknesses and inadequate resource allocation, he stated.
Education stakeholders are calling for urgent reforms beyond tweaking examination procedures or invigilation. Improving outcomes will require strengthening foundational schooling conditions including better teacher preparation, improved contact hours, smaller class sizes, effective curriculum delivery and support for practical and applied learning. Policy makers face pressure to shift from an exam output mindset to competency based education emphasizing real understanding, critical thinking, problem solving and civic awareness.
Asare from Africa Education Watch has called for deliberate bans on mobile phones and use of social media in schools to reduce failure rates and cheating. Mobile phones are the main conduit for cheating and distraction, he argued, suggesting that strict enforcement of device restrictions could help restore academic focus and integrity in examination environments.
