BECE exams leak

Alex Tetteh Enyo - Education Minister This year's Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) faces imminent cancellation following reports of massive leakage of the papers in some parts of the country.

DAILY GUIDE's unimpeachable sources in Koforidua indicate that almost all the papers were leaked to most of the private schools in the New Juaben Municipality.

The news of the massive leakage got to DAILY GUIDE's office at Koforidua yesterday afternoon after which checks from some of the students in some private schools shockingly confirmed the incident.

The leaked papers, according to our sources, were as a result of the special 'relationship' that head teachers and proprietors of some 'top' schools in the country have with some workers of the West African Examination Council (WAEC).

A male student from a preparatory school confirmed to this paper that they had 'apo' in both the written and objectives for all the papers which they had so far written “word for word, sentence for sentence”.

According to him, every year, the 'big' preparatory schools at Koforidua allegedly fight to get 'apo' for their students so that the school could get 100 percent pass with distinction in the BECE.

Another female student from another school also innocently told this paper about the availability of the 'apo' when she was approached on how to get 'apo'.

When DAILY GUIDE asked her whether monies were collected from them before being given the 'apo', she said no monies were collected from them.

According to our sources, a student from a top private junior high school at Koforidua was arrested by an invigilator yesterday holding objectives 'answers' to the exams hall at SECTECH but her 'sins' were forgiven.

DAILY GUIDE's sources also have it that some WAEC officials were at some of the centres at Koforidua to express shock at the level of leakage, and indicated that the exams might be cancelled.

Every year, it has been a ritual for most of the private schools to do whatever they could to ensure that their students pass well in the BECE so that their schools would be seen as the best when it comes to basic level education.

In a related development, two teachers and a supervisor have been arrested for examination malpractices in the ongoing BECE.

They were arrested at the New Fadama Cluster of Schools close to the residence of the National Chief Imam, Shekh Osmanu Sharubutu, at Fadama in Accra, according to a myjoyonline report.

Wisdom Kokrokoo, 61, who was the supervisor for the Fadama Cluster of Schools, was arrested upon a tip-off after he had opened a pack of Mathematic Paper 2 before time for the start of the exam.

The pack was found to contain 47 question papers instead of 50.

The other two suspects, Donald Gabaga and Bukari Musah, both teachers of the Christ the King School in New Fadama, were arrested at a nearby centre as they were found solving the questions with photocopies of the yet-to-be-written paper.

Director of Legal Services for the West Africa Examination Council, Fredric Selbi told the press in Accra that the suspects will be arraigned today, Friday, April 24, 2009.

From Thomas Fosu Jnr, Koforidua