Educationist Nichiren Appiah has cautioned that the number of teachers involved in examination malpractice during the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) could be far higher than the figures officially released by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
Speaking to Ohene Kinnah on Plan B FM’s Ebaanosen, Appiah described the growing trend of exam malpractice as an “organized crime” involving a network of teachers, parents, students and some officials.
According to him, authorities must go beyond surface-level arrests and investigate every link in the chain to effectively deal with the menace.
“Teachers with weak principles will only engage in malpractice. Teachers with sound minds will never allow students to cheat in an examination,” he stated.
Appiah stressed that punishing only a section of culprits would not solve the problem, insisting that all individuals found culpable including students, parents, invigilators and officials must face sanctions to serve as a deterrent to others.
His comments follow revelations by WAEC’s Head of Public Relations, John Kapi, that 43 teachers were arrested across several regions for their alleged involvement in examination malpractice during the just-ended BECE.
According to Kapi, the arrests were made following whistleblower reports and targeted intelligence operations aimed at protecting the credibility of the national examination.
The Ashanti Region recorded the highest number of arrests with 17 teachers apprehended, followed by the Western Region with nine. Greater Accra recorded six arrests, while the Eastern and Central Regions recorded four each. Bono and Bono East Regions recorded two and one arrests respectively.
By: Bernard Mensah |Planbfmonline.com
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