Must we applaud WAEC?

By Enoch Ato Eshun

Strangely, this year's Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) ended without the massive leakage that previously characterised the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) over the years. We are happy because this saved WAEC from having their last breath of dignity suffocate.

Months before the BECE, the West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) had its fair share of massive leakages. There were reports of some papers leaking for well over a week before they were written.

As usual, WAEC was lambasted and whipped only with our mouth. The people behind the massive leakages are yet to be prosecuted. Investigations are still ongoing I guess. Permit me to also guess that ongoing investigations will never end as usual. However, in situations where investigations are completed, the real culprits are never brought to book as is the case in many institutions. They are rather substituted with the weak bone as a scapegoat.

Whose responsibility is it to conduct leakage-free examination in Ghana? Is that the job of the Second Battalion of Infantry in Takoradi? Or the National Fire Service owns this responsibility?

WAEC organises the BECE and WASSCE in Ghana. They therefore have the responsibility to ensure that no eyebrows are raised after any exam conducted by them. However, when they fail to do their work as a result of inconsistency, society must bare its teeth at them.

Their duty is to conduct free and fair examinations without any form of controversies and objections. This has however not been the case for decades. It rather has had a consistency in their papers getting leaked over the years instead of the other way round. Their dignity as a competent exam council has sunk to levels beneath the earth.

With the just ended BECE which was duly conducted, some people whom I chatted with are of the view that WAEC has to be applauded.

I refuse to agree with them because this is what WAEC ought to have done for decades. These applauses will be necessary if examinations have been conducted without these consistent leakages. I feel scandalized with these applauses for this zigzag consistencies.

This year's BECE saw an intimidating presence of security operatives at the various centres across the country to ensure that the right things were done. I humbly think the presence of these security operatives prevented the repetition of irregularities that previously characterised WAEC 's examinations.

Do they merit our applause for this last minute face~saving attempt? Must we parade the streets to salute them for a good job done? Must we? After the national security threatened to deal with them should they disgrace the nation again?

I rather think the exam was duly conducted because of the tongue~lashings Ghanaians gave them as well as the security measures that were put in place.

In my humble opinion, I think they must rather bow their heads in shame for allowing the public to remind them of their mandate as the only body charged with the responsibility of conducting a malpractice-free examination in the country.