Lawyer urges WAEC to think ahead of technology

Mr. Michael Arthur-Dadzie, a legal practitioner, has described events that led to the cancellation of five core subjects in the on-going Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) ‘as appalling and pathetic.’

Mr. Arthur-Dadzie, said the anomaly was a serious indictment on the country, while it could send wrong signals on the integrity of Ghana’s to the outside world, thereby undermining the hard work other disciplined students and dedicated stakeholders in the sector.

"It's about time WAEC and other perpetrators of such criminal and diabolical acts were legally dealt with to halt the practice once and for all since this is not the first time incident," he stated.

Mr. Arthur-Dadzie, who was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), stated that the West African Examination Council (WAEC), the organising body, should had been mindful of the advancement in technology which made information spread fast like wild fire, and taken cautious steps to avoid the leakages.

"It is rather unfortunate that people could compromise confidentiality and instead embrace mediocrity for their selfish interests by leaking examination questions, which could also jeopardize the chances of Ghanaian professionals seeking jobs outside the country," he complained.

He expressed his sympathy and best wishes for those innocent candidates, teachers, parents, and the various schools whose pupils were writing the BECE for the psychological and emotional trauma the cancellation had brought them.

He urged authorities in charge of the conduct of examinations and certifications to sit up or else people would soon use fake and cooked examination results and certificates developed by technology to gain undeserving opportunities.

Mr Arthur-Dadzie, who is also the New Patriotic Party’s 2016 Parliamentary Candidate for Cape Coast South, said education was key to the country's development, and must not be toyed with in any manner.

Improving education in his Constituency, and in the entire Cape Coast Metropolis, would be his topmost priority should he win the seat.

As a teacher, who has taught from the basic to the tertiary levels of education, Mr Arthur-Dadzie, said on occasion, he had called for the re-introduction of the 30% quota system that was in effect before the last educational reform programme was introduced.

The West African Examination Council on June 17 cancelled the papers of five subjects: English Language Paper II, Religious and Moral Education, Integrated Science, Mathematics and Social Studies – following reports that the questions had leaked and were widely circulated on social media.

The rewriting of the papers has been rescheduled for June 29 and 30.

Meanwhile, 14 people, including three Junior High School students have been arrested in connection with the leakage.