<<Print>>Head of West African Examination Council (WAEC), Very Reverend Dr. Sam Nmai Ollenu has denied media reports the 2016 West African Senior Secondary Certificate (WASSCE) papers had been leaked.
If anything, he said, some of the students had "foreknowledge" about the papers before going into the examination hall. Drawing a distinction between a leaked paper and fore-knowledge, the WAEC head said a paper is leaked when its content is circulated in the public some 24 hours or more before the exam is taken. However it is foreknowledge when it is circulated few hours before the paper. Very Reverend Dr. Ollenu who was speaking to Joynews’ Kwetey Nartey asserted some of the exam officers engaged by WAEC to monitor and invigilate the papers could have taken pictures of the papers when they were taken from the exam depot and sent them to friends some hours ahead of the exam. He said his outfit will investigate the circumstances under which the papers were made public hours before the exam. Dr Ollenu added they are not considering any cancellation for now.
Reacting to the alleged leakage, the Executive Chairman of the Ghana Network of Education Coalition (GNECC), Bright Appiah has said officials of WAEC should not be spared, arguing government must interrogate them to find out the culprit. He expressed worry about the leaked papers, adding this has been going on for some time now and it was about time the real perpetrators are brought to book. Mr. Appiah told Joy FM’s Top Story host Dzifa Bampoh: “I think that we should look at the whole system,” adding WAEC is delivering a service to the children and it must take its work seriously.
The fundamental issue is that there is the need to protect the integrity of the papers, he disclosed, insisting, the standard of service offered by WAEC is falling. Responding to a question about the need for investigation, Mr Appiah was in favour but was quick to add the Ghana Education Service (GES) must make public the report of its investigations it conducted in 2015 during one of the biggest leakage in examination papers.