At least seven candidates sitting for the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) have been arrested for engaging in various forms of examination malpractice, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) confirmed on Monday.
WAEC’s Head of Public Affairs, John Kapi, Accra-based Citi News that the arrests were made across three regions, with three candidates picked up in the Central Region, two in the Bono Region, and two in the Ashanti Region.
According to him, five of the candidates were found with mobile phones in the examination halls. He noted that some had allegedly used their phones to take snapshots of examination questions and circulate them on WhatsApp platforms.
Others, he explained, had allegedly used ChatGPT to generate answers, which were then dictated to candidates during the examinations.
Mr. Kapi explained that the two other suspects, although not found with mobile phones, were also implicated in the malpractice scheme.
One was caught distributing prepared answers to candidates, while the other was apprehended while duplicating answer sheets containing responses intended for circulation among candidates.
WAEC says all seven suspects have since been handed over to the police for further investigations.
Expressing concern over the incidents, Mr. Kapi suggested that financial incentives may be driving such acts despite repeated warnings from examination authorities.
“I think they are enticed by monetary considerations; otherwise, I wouldn’t understand why anybody would want to do this even after all the warnings,” he said.
WAEC has repeatedly cautioned candidates, invigilators and members of the public against engaging in examination malpractice, warning that offenders risk prosecution and the cancellation of results. Enditem
Share Us
