Teachers Involved In Examination Malpractices Need Stiffer Punishment � NAGRAT

The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) has called for stiffer punishment for teachers who aid students to cheat during exams. The West Africa Examination council has punished over five thousand 2013 candidates for engaging in various examination malpractices. Although NAGRAT has welcomed the punishment of the students, it is calling for a stiffer punishment to be meted out to teachers who aid the students to cheat. Speaking to Citi News, the General Secretary for NAGRAT, Stanislav Nabome said NAGRAT will not defend wrong doers. �For us as a NAGRAT, we insist on the right thing being done. We are not going to protect or defend wrong doers. A teacher ought to know that he should prepare his lesson, teach the lesson, give sufficient assignments and prepare the child to pass; you don�t need to go to the exam hall and start teaching a child there, they should be punished.� �We are not against such acts. We are very much concerned as representatives of teachers� union that our own members can descend to the gutters to the extent that they are assisting students to engage in exam malpractices,� Mr. Nabome added. In that regard, he insisted that the Association will call for stiffer sanctions on supervisors and invigilators who collude with students to indulge in examination malpractices. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has promised to ensure the effective operation of its new complaint office. The complaint centre is expected to answer to distress calls from stakeholders across the country. According to the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Education, Mr. Parker Allotey, the office will constantly note down complaints received across the country. �We will receive calls from parents to note down their complaints then at the end of every day, we analyse all the complaints we have received from all over the country according to regions and districts then we draw the attention of the managers of the Ghana Education Service from all the district capitals so they are actually informed, they take action and then report to the Ministry of Education.� �It is not a nigh day wonder; it is something that has come to stay. We have people who actually receive the calls on a daily basis,� Mr. Allotey said.