The Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Prof Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, has directed for the interdiction of one Evans Yeboah.
Mr Yeboah is said to be a Mathematics tutor of the Kade Senior High Technical School (SHTS) in the Eastern region.
Briefing the Daily Graphic Tuesday on the directive, he said Mr Yeboah, who was the invigilator of the Integrated Science paper in the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), which was written last Monday, used his position to engage in examination malpractice.
The directive, which took immediate effect, automatically bars the teacher from functioning as an invigilator at the WASSCE, pending the outcome of the investigations into the act.
“He took a snapshot of the question and sent it outside for someone to solve and send the solution back to him via WhatsApp,” the GES boss stated.
Explaining further, Prof. Opoku-Amankwa said Mr Yeboah was found dictating solutions on the phone to the candidates.
Prof. Opoku-Amankwa explained that Mr Yeboah had to step aside for the investigations to be carried out so that he would not interfere in the process.
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Mr Yeboah has been granted police enquiry bail by the Kade Police.
He said the decision to interdict the teacher was to signal to stakeholders and the general public that the GES management would not countenance any misconduct irrespective of the person involved.
Flawless exam
Prof. Opoku-Amankwa said the GES was determined to ensure that the examination was devoid of any malpractices, indicating that “anyone who acts contrary will face the music”.
The Director-General expressed worry that such activities were still taking place in spite of the strongly worded letters that were sent to district and regional directors of education to relay to all the schools.
Warning
Prof. Opoku-Amankwa said before the commencement of the examination, the management of the GES reminded all regional and district directors of education, supervisors and invigilators to take extra precautionary measures to ensure that the examinations were free from any malpractice.
“In that earlier letter, management of GES is particularly concerned with the tendency for some persons to take WhatsApp shots of some question papers and circulate them to create the mischief that the examination questions leaked.
“All supervisors, invigilators and candidates are to be extra careful and look out for such unacceptable practices, since any such reported case will be thoroughly investigated and all those found culpable will be made to face the full rigours of the law,” Prof. Opoku-Amankwa warned.
Advice to candidates
Advising the candidates, the Director-General urged them to be extra conscious of activities which will have the potential of undermining the integrity of the examination.
“Candidates must strive for independent work and depend on their individual abilities. Candidates should also be mindful of the implications of misconduct during the examinations, which could lead to suspension and or cancellation of results and the negative impact that development might have on their future prospects.
“Management stands by all the key players in the administration and conduct of the examination and wishes to urge all to work together to protect the integrity of the examinations,” Prof. Opoku-Amankwa said.