The Ministry of Education has issued a stern warning to those attempting to compromise the integrity of the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), describing individuals complicit in cheating as “enemies of the state.”
The caution from the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, follows a troubling start to the examination period.
On the first day of testing, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) recorded seven distinct cases of malpractice across the Central, Bono, and Ashanti Regions.
Crucially, these initial reports implicate teachers and invigilators, the very officials tasked with upholding the exam’s sanctity.
Dr Clement Abas Apaak, the Deputy Minister for Education, emphasised that the government’s resolve to dismantle the culture of examination fraud is absolute.
He noted that candidates found in possession of unauthorised materials or seeking external assistance risk the immediate cancellation of their results.
However, the harshest rhetoric was reserved for school authorities and supervisors who aid or ignore such misconduct.
These professionals now face severe penalties, including dismissal, interdiction, and criminal prosecution.
The Ministry’s current stance is backed by the outcomes of last year’s enforcement efforts.
Of the forty individuals apprehended for facilitating cheating in 2025, eight have already been convicted and sentenced.
These eight individuals have been summarily dismissed from the Ghana Education Service (GES) and removed from the national payroll.
The remaining thirty-two suspects are currently progressing through the court system.
To prevent further breaches, a coordinated monitoring task force comprising the GES, WAEC, and national security agencies has been deployed across all 2,303 examination centres.
This heightened surveillance aims to ensure that the 2026 BECE remains a fair reflection of student ability rather than a test of illegal ingenuity.
While the Ministry reiterated its best wishes to the thousands of candidates sitting for their papers, the underlying message to the public was clear: any attempt to corrupt the learners or the national examination system will be met with swift, uncompromising justice.
The examinations are scheduled to conclude on 11 May.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
