Following our interview with a top ministry of education official expressing concern about the frequent leakage of exam question papers, the management of the Banjul Office of the West African Examinations Council reacted by stating that while it was aware of the posting online of its exam question papers, in all cases the postings were made after the start of the examination. Waec also said in some cases the questions posted and purported to be the real questions turned out to be fake.
The full statement from Waec reads:
”The article commenced by stating that the Permanent Secretary, MoBSE, denounced the frequent leakage of the WAEC question papers. This opening statement gave the impression that leakage of the question papers for WASSCE for School Candidates, 2022 was frequent.
We wish to correct this impression by informing your esteemed readership that this was not the case at all. Indeed, the Council is privy to its question papers being posted on social media platforms in the last edition of WASSCE but in all cases the postings were made after the start of the examination. In some cases, the questions posted and purported to be the real questions turned out to be fake. The Council monitors every report of leakage of question papers and would be quick to replace them if leakage is confirmed.
It may also interest you to note that the Council is vigorously pursuing the perpetrators of these postings in all the member countries. In this country in particular a report was lodged with the Serious Fraud Office and individuals were apprehended. A respectable financial institution was also approached and apprised of the use of their service for the perpetration of fraud.
The Council has for the past years spared no efforts to sensitize its stakeholders and the general public in general on the need to combat examination malpractice in all its forms including the use of the internet to publish so-called WAEC questions. The best way to combat the activities of these so-called question paper peddlers is to abstain from patronizing them. Schools and other stakeholders are urged to adequately sensitize potential examination candidates on the futility of patronizing them for, after subscribing, candidates have no guarantee of receiving what they want and at the time they want it. This is not to mention the criminal and socially nefarious aspects of examination malpractice in general”.
