The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) are urging parents whose children’s results have been cancelled or withheld by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to take swift legal action.
In an exclusive interview with TV3’s Labour Affairs Correspondent, Daniel Opoku, the pre-tertiary teacher unions emphasized the need for timely justice, describing WAEC’s actions as deeply concerning—especially in light of a similar case just eight months ago.
In January this year, WAEC withheld or cancelled the results of thousands of students, sparking a wave of lawsuits from aggrieved parents. A landmark ruling by the High Court later compelled the Council to release the results of over 10,000 students.
Now, a new controversy is unfolding.
WAEC has cancelled the entire Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results of 177 students and withheld the results of over 2,000 others. The Council claims the students were involved in examination malpractices involving mobile phones and other unauthorized items.
But GNAT is demanding transparency.
General Secretary of GNAT, Thomas Tanko Musah, is calling on WAEC to disclose the evidence that led to the latest cancellations.
“WAEC is saying that they detected [malpractices] during the conduct of the examination and marking. So the evidence you have—if any parent goes to court—must be competent. I pray this time WAEC will not lose the case. If WAEC loses two times in a row, then WAEC will suffer a credibility crisis,” he said.
Musah also urged affected parents to take legal steps if they believe WAEC has acted unjustly.
“The Constitution of Ghana is very clear under Article 23: when you occupy a public office, you must act fairly and reasonably. So if, in the minds of the parents, WAEC has acted capriciously, they have every right to go to court to seek redress,” he added.
Meanwhile, NAGRAT President Angel Carbonu is calling for firm punitive action—especially in cases where cheating is proven.
“We need to deal with this totally by exacting punitive and sanction laws. When people are found guilty, they should be dealt with according to law,” Carbonu stated.
He also stressed the need to strengthen internal systems to prevent future examination malpractices.
“WAEC conducts examinations on behalf of international bodies, and we’ve never heard of leakages. So how come when we have our own exams, there are leakages? There is a problem somewhere. If someone is guilty, send the person to jail.”
As tensions rise again between WAEC and key stakeholders, both GNAT and NAGRAT are making it clear: justice, fairness, and credibility must remain at the core of Ghana’s examination system.
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