The Head of Public Affairs for the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), John Kapi, has disclosed that the examination body deployed whistleblowers during the conduct of the 2025 WASSCE.
He says reports from the whistleblowers were confirmed by their staff who followed up after they were hinted of developments at the examination centres, being part of the reasons candidates were unable to cheat in the exam.
According to Kapi, the Ghana Education Service (GES) was also on a regular tour to the examination centres, including the Director-General himself, to ensure examination malpractices were reduced.
The revelation follows the mass failures in some core subjects, particularly Core Mathematics and Social Studies, after the release of the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
According to a press statement announcing the release of the provisional results by WAEC on Saturday, November 29, 2025, nearly one of every four candidates failed in Core Mathematics and Social Studies.
The development has sparked national conversation since, with a former Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, saying the outcome is as a result of poor management of the schools by the GES.
Also, a former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Prof. Stephen Adei, has cautioned the GES about the punitive measures in the classrooms emanating from the top.
He believes headmasters should be given the power to enforce discipline in the schools, adding that until the “extra classes” fees paid by students are halted, the results are going to be worse.
READ ALSO: Scrap ‘extra classes’ fees to improve WASSCE performance – Prof. Adei
The GES has since responded to the issue, particularly the former Minister, indicating that the enhanced vigilance during the process is what resulted in the true academic performance of the students.
Adding to the concerns, the WAEC PRO, speaking on Ghana Tonight on TV3 Monday, December 1, 2025, noted that while the GES adopted extra measures to stop malpractices, WAEC also developed initiatives to protect the integrity of the examination.
“We had whistleblowers who drew our attention to things happening in some of the areas and indeed when we sent our personnel, we realised that whatever they were reporting were true. So we deployed a lot of people,” he stated.
He also reemphasised the role of the Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, in cautioning those involved in examination malpractices to stop as the laws were going to deal with them severely.
“I think that at a press meeting that I attended, the Minister was emphatic about the fact that they will deal decisively with any teacher who misconducts himself in the course of the examination. So I believe that with these words and the sensitisation that we also did, we were able to have people realise that there was a need for them to allow the children do independent work.”
WAEC releases provisional results of 2025 WASSCE, cancels subject results of 6,295 candidates
