The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is considering the introduction of computer-based testing (CBT) in response to malpractices in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

Speaking on Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily on Friday, September 12, 2025, WAEC’s Head of Public Affairs, Mr. John Kapi, revealed that the computer-based testing will replace the traditional paper-based format. According to him, the Council has already had discussions and will soon conduct a trial before its nationwide rollout.

“Gradually, we are also thinking about computer-based testing, which is something that we have thought about. We have had a technical committee meeting. We want to pilot that with one of our small examination, the general and advanced business certificate examination.examinations

“This is an examination that does not have a large candidature, so we can manage them at the regional capital, where we are sure of internet connectivity, and once we are able to do that, we believe we can begin the process, so that if that works, we can replicate,”Mr. Kapi said.

The 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), a crucial entry point to secondary education, has been marred by what appears to be one of the most alarming cases of organised malpractice ever exposed.

A JoyNews Hotline investigation, spearheaded by GH Probe’s Francisca Enchil, uncovered how officials of the Ghana Education Service (GES), together with supervisors, headteachers, and invigilators, turned the national assessment into a coordinated racket—sacrificing academic integrity for monetary gain.

At both Derby Avenue RC Basic and St. George’s Anglican Basic in Accra, invigilators asked for GH¢60 daily, supervisors accepted GH¢400 cash envelopes, and candidates were told to contribute to an ‘Aseda Offertory.’

Instead of upholding strict monitoring, supervisors doubled as guards for invigilators, tipping them off whenever WAEC or National Security officials approached. Teachers and headteachers, though prohibited from the premises, roamed exam centres, bribed their way through, and in some instances fed answers straight to candidates.

The exposé has triggered outrage. The Acting Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, Prof. Ernest Kofi Davis, has warned that teachers face dismissal if caught. Civil society voices, such as Kofi Asare of Africa Education Watch, caution that Ghana is "teaching children corruption in basic schools"—a dangerous normalisation of dishonesty.

Meanwhile, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) announced that at least 14 individuals had been arrested across the country for their involvement in malpractice in the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

The victims, according to the Council, were teachers, students, and invigilators. Speaking to the media on Friday, September 5, Head of Public Affairs at WAEC, John Kapi, noted, “As part of our commitment to upholding the integrity and credibility of our examination, we have deployed—for we had to employ a number of staff, as well as our own specialized personnel—to monitor the examination centres. Our monitoring teams have observed irregular activity at a number of the examination centres.”

Three of the convicts were sentenced to a combined 20 months behind bars, as declared by the Kasoa-Ofaakor District Magistrate Court. The convicts include a teacher at Ghana College SHS, Samuel Armah, and two university students, Kwame Oteng Nkansah and Amedeka James.

Armah, an invigilator, was sentenced to eight months' imprisonment with a fine of 80 penalty units. He was caught dictating answers from his mobile phone to candidates during the Social Studies Paper 1.

Nkansah, a level 100 student of Accra Technical University, impersonated one Quayson Francis Atta of Ghana College SHS. He received a jail term of six months with a fine of 80 penalty units.

A level 100 student of the University of Ghana, James, was also granted a six-month jail term after attempting to write the exam in place of his twin brother, Amedeka Justice.

On Monday, August 25, authorities caught an invigilator at the Forces SHTS with a phone loaded with exam questions while the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) was in progress.

His phone contained exam questions on Picture Making and Oral English.On Wednesday, August 20, WAEC commenced the 2025 WASSCE with a total of 461,640 candidates who sat for the Oral English exam.

The practical papers commenced on August 4. The number of students who sat for this year’s exams saw a 0.22 percent increase from 2024, when a total of 460,611 candidates sat for the WASSCE. This year’s candidates comprise 207,381 males and 254,259 females.

Ahead of the exams, the Ghana Education Service (GES) released funds to cater for the 2025 WASSCE practical examinations for all Senior High Schools (SHSs) and Senior High Technical Schools (SHTSs) across the country. An amount of GH¢15,849,920 was released, according to reports.

According to GES, in a statement issued on Saturday, July 27, and signed by the Head of Public Relations, Daniel Fenyi, the funds were expected to provide all necessary materials and supplies for the practical exams.

“The Management of the Ghana Education Service (GES) announces that funds had been released to all Senior High Schools (SHS) and Senior High Technical Schools (SHTS) across the country to cover the fees for the 2025 WASSCE practicals. This payment ensures that all practical examinations scheduled for the 2025 WASSCE are fully supported, including the provision of the required materials and other essential resources," the Service noted.

WAEC cancelled and withheld the subject results and entire results of some 2,228 candidates who sat for the 2025 BECE. The Council made this known after revealing that it had released provisional results of candidates who sat for the BECE for School Candidates, 2025.

Following the completion of investigations into several cases of irregularity detected during the conduct of the examination and marking of scripts, the 36th Meeting of the Final Awards and Examiners' Appointment Committee for the BECE, 2025, held on Friday, August 15, 2025, approved the cancellation of the subject results of 718 candidates and the entire results of 177 candidates.

The committee also withheld the subject results of 1,240 candidates and entire results of 93 candidates. Meanwhile, the subject results of some candidates from 119 schools have been cancelled.

In addition, the subject results of some candidates from 87 schools have been withheld for further scrutiny. The withheld results may be cancelled or released based on the outcome of investigations by September 6, 2025. WAEC has indicated that candidates whose results have been cancelled or withheld should visit their website for details and reasons for the withholding or cancellation of results.