The National Union Ghana Students (NUGS) has said that the recent scandal involving the cancellation of Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) papers should be a wake-up call for a complete overhaul of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
According to NUGS, this should be the first step of ensuring a permanent solution to this “deleterious” canker.
WAEC on Wednesday cancelled five papers in the ongoing BECE after discovering that the papers have been compromised.
The papers involved are: English Language 2, Religious and Moral Education 2, Integrated Science 2, Mathematics 2 and Social Studies 2.
The June 2015 BECE started only on Monday, June 15 and were expected to be completed on Friday, June 19. As many as 438,030 candidates were registered to write the examinations in 1,446 centres across the country.
WAEC has explained that investigations were underway to unearth the full facts of the malpractice and assured it is determined to follow the case to its logical conclusion and will not shield any person, including its own, who will be found culpable.
According the exams body, the compromised papers will be re-administered on 29th and 30th June, 2015 and a time table for the tests would be circulated shortly.
Meanwhile the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) has taken over the investigations arguing that WAEC cannot be trusted to investigate itself.
In a statement issued and signed by Rhodalyn Eshun, Press and Information Secretary of NUGS, the students’ body said the institutional indiscipline and impunity at WAEC ought to stop now so that authorities can take ultimate responsibility for their actions and inactions.
“Enough is enough, If we must act, then it has to be now or never. For how long would innocent students or candidates continue to unduly suffer from the negligence of officialdom? A travesty of justice that is,” the statement said.
The Union condemned the leakage of the exams papers and said it was a drawback on the various strides achieved over the years.
It however said the sub-regional examination body, was “simply failing the nation and ought to be challenged to rise up to its core.”
“It is in the light of this that NUGS welcomes the decision by the BNI to takeover this very investigation to untie this mystery.”
“The Union wishes to challenge the BNI to do a perfect job in the interest of justice and implore all to cooperate so that this matter can be dealt with once and for all,” it said.
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