WAEC cancels English papers of 70 Amaniampong candidates

Mampong (Ash), Dec 14, GNA - Seventy out of the 499 candidates of Amaniampong Senior High School (SHS) who sat for the 2009 West African School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) have had their English papers cancelled. The core Mathematics papers of 27 others as well as the Social Studies a nd Integrated Science of another 26 had also been declared invalid. These are contained in provisional results released by West African Examination Council (WAEC) to the school. The Council had, prior to this, withheld the school's examination results for alleged registration of unqualified candidates and malpractices in the Economic papers. Mr Thomas Alex Aboagye, the Headmaster, said this at the inauguration of the school's re-constituted Board of Governors at Asante-Mampong. A Kumasi-based lawyer, Mr Dennis Adjei, is Chairman.

Mr Aboagye praised the Parent/Teacher Association (PTA) and the Old Students Association for a three-storey classroom project they have started for the school. They are spending GH¢250,000.00 on the block, the ground floor of w hich has been completed. Mr Joseph Kwabena Onyinah, Ashanti Regional Director of Education, said he was happy with the performance of most of school boards in the region and that they had helped to bring discipline in schools. He urged them to continue to forge strong links among the home, school, community and the Ghana Education Service. Mr Adjei said they would work hard to raise academic performance and image of the school.

2008/2009 WASSCE: Over 22,000 Results Withheld

A total number of 22,014 results of students have been withheld pending further investigations by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) following the release of the May/June 2008/2009 WASSCE results. WAEC also cancelled 733 subject results. The Head of the Ghana National Office of the WAEC, Mrs Patience Gladys Ayele Ayesu, made this known at a press conference in Accra today. She pointed out that eventhough 158,001 students from 577 schools, including blind students, participated in the examinations; the total results released so far is 135,987. According to her, registration of unqualified candidates with the connivance of some teachers and invigilators, and examination malpractices was prominent. “203 students from 6 schools were disqualified. As a result of this WAEC is taking steps to discipline the heads of the schools and candidates…So far entry results cancelled is 153,” she revealed. Mrs. Ayesu further disclosed that due to investigations into some of the results and students’ involvement in exams malpractices, WAEC will provide the full break down of and percentage pass after investigations. Source: Godfred Sey/Alex Ofei

WAEC cancels English Paper 1; reschedules Mathematics Paper

West African Examination Council The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has canceled the English Paper 1 of the ongoing Senior High School Examination written last Saturday, 12th September, 2009, due to widespread leakage. This was confirmed to Joy News by the acting head of the council, Nii Christian John in an interview with Joy News on Friday. “We have canceled the English Paper 1. This English paper 1 and 2 were written last Saturday. The evidence we have gathered doesn’t show that the paper 2 was compromised,” he said. He said for the “abundance of caution” the council has also rescheduled the mathematics paper penciled for Saturday, September, 19, 2009 to 17th November, 2009. Nii Christian John said several arrests have been made as part of thorough investigation into the leakage but will not disclose their identities. He expressed regrets over the leakage as well as the cancellation and gave the assurance that his outfit will put adequate security measures in place to forestall future occurrences. The English paper 1 will be written on October 16, 2009. Story by Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

Examination candidates angry at WAEC

Nii Christian Johnson assures the candidates that the papers to be re-sited are much secured. Some candidates of the ongoing Senior High School Examinations are angry at WAEC’s decision to cancel and reschedule some of the exam papers following reports of leakage of exam questions. The re-sit of the English Paper 1 is scheduled for Friday, October 16 while the Mathematics paper which was originally scheduled for Saturday has been rescheduled for October 17. Some of the frustrated candidates told Joy News the cancellation of the papers is unfair. According to the candidates, WAEC is to blame for the leakages. “The WAEC officials, they set the questions, they gave it out, they sold it to people”, one of the frustrated candidates said. Meanwhile, Acting National Head of WAEC, Nii Christian Johnson says the decision to cancel the papers is in the best interest of candidates who did not get the leaked questions. “They have every right to be angry. But it’s in their interest and that of the nation as a whole”. Speaking to Joy News, Nii Christian Johnson said though the WAEC has proper security in place some "criminals" sometimes break through the system. He also conceded some of the leakages have been as result of negligence on the part of WAEC, but stressed his outfit is working on that. However, an Educationist, I. K. Gyasi, blames parents and students for wanting to pass exams by fair or foul means. “Human greed, the desire of both parents and their children to pass the exams by fair or foul means, students not studying properly for examinations, these to me account for this problem”, he said. He also blames the long channel the exams papers go through as possible source of leakage. According to him, the paper passes through the Chief Examiner who sets the questions, the Moderator who sets the standard, the printers that print the papers and finally the exam council officials. He however ruled out the possibility of the police leaking the questions, even though the papers are kept with the police. Mr Gyasi said it is the printers and the exam council officials who should be held accountable for such leakages. “Proprietors of some basic schools buy the papers from WACE the exams council”, he said. Nii Christian Johnson assures the candidates that the papers to be re-sited are much secured. By: Dorcas Efe Mensah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

Ghana:Graduate, 25, Held Over Impersonation In Examination

The vigilance of a tutor of the Kumasi Anglican Secondary School has led to the arrest of a graduate of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) for alleged impersonation in the ongoing West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for private candidates.

The tutor, who was invigilating the General Knowledge in Art 2B paper at the WAEC Hall 2 in Kumasi last Thursday, was shocked when he saw the suspect, Michael Nii Armah, 25, writing the examination with the name Ben Nyantakyi Nimo, and consequently caused his arrest.

This was because he taught him at the Kumasi Anglican Secondary School and knew him to have completed the KNUST.
The police were also holding a lady by name Bernice Nyantakyi Nimo in connection with the case.

Bernice admitted before the police that she convinced Nii Armah to write the paper, but in the name of Ben Nyantakyi Nimo.
According to her, she was deficient in the registered subjects and since she was bent on entering the university, she contacted Nii Armah to help her out.

The Kumasi branch Controller of WAEC, Mr Edgar Fiagbey, told the Daily Graphic that the plan was for Nii Armah to write the name and index number of Bernice on his question paper while Bernice wrote those of the non-existent Ben Nyantakyi Nimo on her question paper.

He stated that the practice was not new, and added that some culprits had been arrested in the past and dealt with by the law.
The admission notice for Nii Armah showed that he registered for the Graphic Design and General Knowledge in Art papers with the name Ben Nyantakyi Nimo and had the index number 10515009242.

Nii Armah told the police that Bernice helped him very much when he was at the university and, therefore, decided to reciprocate the gesture when she approached him with the request to write the examination for her.

Police Inspector Regina Nunoofio, the officer in charge of the WAEC Police Post in Kumasi, said the suspects would be processed for court after investigations were complete.




Author : Kwame Asare Boadu

WAEC releases 2009 BECE results

Some BECE candidates taking their examination The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released provisional results of the April 2009 Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE). The results for the schools would be dispatched through the District Directors of Education. A release issued in Accra and signed by the Senior Public Affairs. Manager of WAEC, Mrs Agnes Teye-Cudjoe, said the candidates scores would be forwarded to the Ghana Education Service for use in the Computerised School Selection and Placement System while candidates could access their results online. It said 450 candidates had their subjects cancelled while 130 had their entire results cancelled. The affected candidates, according to the release were involved in various examination irregularities such as sending into the examination hall foreign materials, seeking/receiving help from non-candidates, including invigilators, supervisors and teachers and tearing parts of their question papers and answer booklets, as well as collusion. Source: Daily Graphic/Ghana

WAEC releases 2009 BECE results

Some BECE candidates taking their examination The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released provisional results of the April 2009 Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE). The results for the schools would be dispatched through the District Directors of Education. A release issued in Accra and signed by the Senior Public Affairs. Manager of WAEC, Mrs Agnes Teye-Cudjoe, said the candidates scores would be forwarded to the Ghana Education Service for use in the Computerised School Selection and Placement System while candidates could access their results online. It said 450 candidates had their subjects cancelled while 130 had their entire results cancelled. The affected candidates, according to the release were involved in various examination irregularities such as sending into the examination hall foreign materials, seeking/receiving help from non-candidates, including invigilators, supervisors and teachers and tearing parts of their question papers and answer booklets, as well as collusion. Source: Daily Graphic/Ghana

Ghana: No WASSCE in 2010

Director-General of the GES, Mr Samuel Bannerman-Mensah The West African Examinations Council will not conduct the May/June 2010 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in Ghana. This is because the current second-year students who started the four-year senior high school programme will next year be in their third-year and, therefore, cannot be eligible to participate in the examination. It is only in 2011, when the students will be in the fourth and final year that they will be qualified to write the WASSCE. There will, however, be the November-December private candidates WASSCE in 2010. This was contained in a letter issued by the Ghana Education Service (GES) to heads of senior high schools, outlining the calendar for the 2009-2010 academic year, a copy of which has been made available to the Daily Graphic. “Please, note that there would be no West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in May/June 20:10. This calendar supersedes any other that has been published," the letter signed by a Deputy Director General of GES, Ms Benedicta Naana Biney, said. According to the calendar, next year's Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) would be held from April 19 to 23, 2010. . It said the first term for the 2009-2010 academic year for basic schools in the country would begin from September 15, 2009 and end on December 17, 2009, adding that pupils would then go on Christmas break from December 18, 2009 to January 11, 2009. The second term for the academic year would begin from January 12, 2010 to April 15, 2010. Pupils would go on holidays from April 16, 20I0 to May 10, 20I0, after which the third term would commence from May 11, 2010 to July 29, 2010. For senior high schools, the calendar indicated that the first term for the 2009-2010 academic year starts from September 11, 2009 to December 18, 2009, with holidays slated for December 19, 2009 to January 7, 2010. The second term, it said, would commence from January 8, 2010 to April 9, 2010. Students would break for holidays from April 10, 2010 to April 29, 2010. According to the calendar, senior high schools were to resume for the third and final term for the academic year from April 30, 2010 to August 5, 2010. Meanwhile, the GES says it has taken cognisance of the involvement of a large number of serving teachers currently pursuing the Diploma in Basic Education by distance and sandwich in the Colleges of Education. "In view of this, it has become necessary to synchronise the basic schools academic calendar with that of the Colleges of Education. By this arrangement, excuses by teachers to vacate classrooms to attend such programmes should therefore not be tolerated," a letter signed by the Director-General of the GES, Mr Samuel Bannerman-Mensah, said. Source: Daily Graphic/Ghana