President John Dramani Mahama has declared that stricter anti-cheating measures during the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) have finally exposed the real academic standing of Ghanaian students.
Addressing a town hall meeting at the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies in the Upper West Region on Saturday, 12 September, as part of his ‘Resetting Ghana Tour’, the President revealed that enhanced invigilation had curtailed widespread examination malpractice.
“One thing that I’m happy and proud of is that we’re seeing our children’s true results,” President Mahama stated, noting that previous collusion between headteachers and officials had awarded candidates unmerited grades, leaving many without essential foundational skills as they advanced.
“And so today we’re seeing the real results of our children because invigilation has improved and the mass cheating in exams you know has been curtailed,” he added, highlighting improvements in key subjects such as Mathematics while acknowledging an ongoing government probe into a slight dip in Social Studies performance.
During the same engagement, President Mahama firmly dismissed rumours alleging that Cabinet had sanctioned the mandatory rollout of Chinese and Arabic across state schools.
“No such policy has been approved by the cabinet that I chair. So let’s put that matter to rest once and for all,” he emphasised.
Questioning the logic of adding Chinese when state institutions are currently struggling to recruit sufficient instructors for French—a vital language given Ghana’s surrounding Francophone neighbours—he observed: “We’re not even getting a handle on the teaching of French. Why would we go and introduce Chinese?”
Clarifying the context surrounding Arabic tuition, the President noted that its instruction is confined to specific Islamic institutions set up under the late former President Jerry John Rawlings to encourage enrolment among Muslim communities, rather than a nationwide curriculum expansion.
“But there’s no new policy to introduce Arabic and Chinese in all public schools in Ghana,” President Mahama concluded.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
