Fourteen individuals, including teachers, students, and invigilators, have been arrested across the country for their alleged involvement in examination malpractice during the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
Head of Public Affairs at the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), John Kapi, confirmed the arrest during a press conference in Accra on Friday September 5.
Mr Kapi noted that the number is expected to rise as investigations continue. He cautioned that results from the affected schools will be subjected to thorough scrutiny.
The arrests were recorded at various centres, including Yeji Senior High School, Abbott College in Asante Bekwai, and Atwima Kwanwoma Presbyterian SHS.
Mr. Kapi disclosed that the Adventist Day Senior High School centre in Kumasi was shut down after several mobile phones were seized from candidates. Students from that centre have since been relocated to WAEC’s regional office to complete their exams under strict supervision.
Mr Kapi further said that claims that the Stanine grading system does not represent actual performance of BECE candidates are untrue.
This grading system, a norm‑referenced approach fixes the share of students in each grade rather than using absolute score thresholds.
Under Stanine, only a predetermined percentage of candidates can get each grade – roughly 4% earn Grade 1 (the top stanine), 7% Grade 2, 12% Grade 3, and so on (with the bottom 4% getting Grade 9).
Speaking in an interview on TV3’s NewsCentral, Friday, September 4, 2025 John Kapi explained that the system grades a candidates’ performance based on “comparison with other people within your own circle of students studying the same thing and being examined on the same thing.”
“Let me just make this addition maybe people think that the Stanine grading system does not necessarily represent the performance of the candidates, it is entirely untrue,” Mr. Kapi clarified.
He noted that the grading system is not a new system implemented, stressing that WAEC has no control over which grading system to be used for candidates.
According to him, the system was chosen by the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Service has the sole authority to decide not to use the Stanine system anymore.
“Decisions concerning the BECE in particular are solely that of the Ghana Education Service. There are a few situations where as WAEC we would be able to introduce few changes but even that we would have to do that in collaboration with the GES.
“As a council, we cannot on our own decide to change the grading system because whenever the results are ready, we hand everything over to the GES and they continue with it from there,” he stated.
Despite the agitations raised against the Stanine grading system, John Kapi noted that it serves specific functions including selection of schools and placement for candidates.
“It is not entirely true that WAEC has decided to stick to it even though it is unpopular. It is for certification, as well as for selection and for placement, so it has a number of functions it performs and the GES officials think it is the one that I suitable for the BECE that is why they have adapted it,” he added.
