WAEC, West African Examination Council, has arrested 20 employees for allegedly aiding and abetting examination malpractice in its ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination, WASSCE, for school students.
According to the Council, the arrests were made around the country. Mr Patrick Areghan, the Head of National Office (HNO) of Council, said this on the sidelines of a monitoring exercise he conducted in certain Lagos schools on Thursday.
He claims that the WAEC has since turned over all of the perpetrators to the police for prosecution. Areghan pledged that the Council will do all necessary to see that their case was brought to a successful end.
“The problem of examination malpractice cannot be ignored any longer.”
“It is no longer business as usual in our society, as it has completely eroded morals and values.” It is assuming a hazardous form that, if not addressed, will bring our country to its knees.
“Since the beginning of this examination, we have deployed our technology, which is designed to catch examination cheats, and we are pleased with the results we have obtained thus far.”
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“For example, in Ibadan, Oyo, where we have our zonal office that covers Osun, Kwara, and Oyo itself, we made three arrests in a school, the name of which I will not mention for the sake of confidentiality.”
“A supervisor at a center, the principal, and an invigilator were all arrested there.” They were arrested for reportedly snapping and publishing the questions on social media.
“Then, in Maiduguri, a school supervisor and principal were both arrested and turned over to the police.”
“In Umuahia, a teacher and a supervisor were arrested in a specific school and turned over to the police.” “In Abeokuta, a school proprietor was the first to be caught at the beginning of this examination on May 8, snapping and posting question papers,” he explained.
Areghan called the act a colossal disgrace. According to the WAEC official, the proprietor and a supervisor were arrested and turned over to the police. He went on to say that the same thing happened in Osogbo, where a principal, invigilator, and top supervisor were all arrested for the same offense. As stated according to him, a supervisor and an examination official in a school who were caught in the act were arrested and turned over to the police in Kaduna as well.
He explained that the school ceded to Kaduna was originally intended for Kano but was ceded since it was closer to Kaduna. Areghan stated that the arrests will continue until the examination was completed.
He encouraged applicants not to let their future be jeopardized by people who did not wish them well by promising to help them pass their exams illegally, emphasizing that WAEC exams could never be accessed illegally.
According to him, all of those captured in the act may have been paid by unknowing applicants and their parents, promising to help them pass the exam. “I’d like to refute the assertion that our exam questions constantly leak, which some individuals like to make. “That is not true. “Until they get to the candidates in the hall, our examination is always safe and secure,” he stated.
He said that WAEC examination questions never leaked and warned the media not to use the word “leak” in the future. “When the examination is about to begin, we give the question papers to the supervisors one hour before the start time so that they can travel from the collection point to the various schools where the examination will be administered.”
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“As soon as they enter the test room, they will “As soon as they arrive at the exam hall, they will open the pack in the name of distributing to candidates, and they will snap and post to various designated platforms, including WhatsApp, Instagram, and others.” “Such individuals are members of a syndicate group that collects money,” he explained.
He claims that once the exam is underway, anyone who takes photos of the papers and uploads them online will be caught. Areghan mentioned that the Council had a system for determining who snapped, who uploaded, to whom it was posted, and which candidate’s question booklet was posted.
According to him, this is when the Council takes action, collecting up all of them and handing them over to the police. “You’ve been following me around for this surveillance. You saw me tell these kids that they won’t have time to access any materials taken and posted on any platforms because they’re already in the exam room.”
“Based on what we’ve seen so far today at the schools we’ve visited, I’d say the exam is going well.” There hasn’t been anything out of our control. Of course, there will be people who want to prove their intelligence by cutting corners and trying to get things done unethically, but we have been able to beat them to it.”
“There are some that we don’t bother with because we will deal with them administratively,” he says.
