The Executive Director of Africa Education Watch (EduWatch), Kofi Asare, has raised concerns about the limited presence of West African Examinations Council (WAEC) officials at Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) centres, warning that the situation could undermine effective supervision of the examination process.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, August 4, Mr Asare disclosed that WAEC officials are physically present at less than 10 per cent of BECE centres nationwide, forcing the Council to rely heavily on supervisors and technology to monitor examinations.
“The challenge is that WAEC has limited presence. Their staff, their own officials, are available in less than 10% of the BECE centres,” he said.
According to him, most examination centres are supervised by headteachers and other education officials, some of whom may have links to the schools where candidates are writing the examinations.
He argued that this arrangement could present challenges in ensuring independent and effective oversight during examinations.
Mr Asare explained that because of WAEC’s limited physical presence, the Council increasingly depends on technological systems to identify suspected examination malpractice.
He said the systems are capable of detecting unusual similarities in candidates’ responses, including patterns where groups of students provide nearly identical answers.
“WAEC cannot detect all, but if you are giving something to copy, the system can pick it up depending on the pattern,” he said.
The EduWatch Executive Director made the comments following WAEC’s cancellation of the results of 601 candidates in the 2026 BECE, while 167 results have been withheld and 2,722 cases remain under investigation over suspected examination malpractice.
Mr Asare stressed that the increase in malpractice cases should not automatically be interpreted as an increase in cheating, suggesting that stronger monitoring systems and improved enforcement could also account for the higher number of detected cases.
He called for greater investment in examination supervision and monitoring mechanisms to strengthen the integrity of the BECE and improve public confidence in the examination system.
