WAEC Arrests 20 Officials, Identifies 56 Illegal Websites Used For Exam Malpractice

The West African Examination Council (WAEC) is taking concrete steps to combat examination malpractice among its candidates, examiners, and other affiliates.

The body announced that it has identified 56 rogue website operators involved in examination malpractice since the start of this year’s ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination.

This was disclosed by the Head of the National Office of Council, Mr. Patrick Areghan, during a monitoring exercise of the exams in Lagos.

“Now, let me tell you confidently that so far, we have identified 56 of these rogue website operators and those who patronise them, and we are going to pick them up.

“The materials that candidates see on these rogue websites are all fake, as most times, the operators resort to photoshopping.

“They can just super-impose 2023 on top of a paper of 2020 and use it to deceive them. By the time they get to the examination hall, they become blank, as everything will become strange to them,” he said.

He added that the body has compiled the number of arrests made throughout the country and that the full weight of the law will be upon them.

Meanwhile, Areghan also said that no fewer than 20 school officials have been arrested for allegedly aiding and abetting candidates in examination malpractice.

He stated that the culprits were arrested from various states of the nation and they have all been handed over to the police for prosecution.

He spoke about the importance of handling malpractice cases very seriously and he listed some of the states and instances where school officials were arrested.

” No fewer than 20 school officials, allegedly aiding and abetting examination malpractice, have been arrested by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) in its ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates.

The Council said that the arrests were made in various parts of the country and that the culprits had been handed over to the police for prosecution.

Areghan vowed that the council would do everything possible to ensure that their prosecution was followed to a logical conclusion.

“The issue of examination malpractice can no longer be treated with kid gloves.

“It is no longer business as usual, as it has completely eroded morals and values in our society. It is taking a dangerous dimension, which, if not tackled will bring our country to its knees.

“Now, since the commencement of this examination, we have deployed our technology, designed to catch examination cheats and we are happy with the results we have gotten so far.

“For instance, in Ibadan, Oyo, where we have our zonal office, which takes care of Osun, Kwara, and Oyo itself, we made three arrests in a school and for the purpose of confidentiality, I will not mention the name.

“There, a supervisor at a centre, principal, and invigilator were all arrested. They were arrested for allegedly snapping and posting the questions to some platforms, thereby, aiding and abetting examination malpractices.

“Then, in Maiduguri, a supervisor and principal of a school were both arrested and handed over to the police too.

“In Umuahia, a teacher and a supervisor were arrested in a particular school and they have been handed over to the police.

“In Abeokuta, a school proprietor was the first to be caught at the beginning of this examination on May 8, snapping and posting question papers,” he said.

He described the arrest of the school proprietor as a monumental disgrace, adding that the proprietor and a supervisor had already been arrested and handed over to the police.

He stated that another school principal was arrested in Osogbo, alongside an invigilator and chief supervisor, while in Kaduna a supervisor and an examination official in a school who were caught in the act, were arrested and handed over to the police.

Speaking on the claims that examination questions get leaked before the commencement time, he said WAEC’s examinations could never be accessed illegally.

“I want to counter this statement that some people are fond of making, which is that our examination questions always leak.

“That does not exist. Our examination is always safe and secured until they get to the candidates in the hall,” he said.

He reinforced that WAEC examination questions don’t ever leak and cautioned the media to stop using the word “leak”.

“What actually happens is that, once the examination is about to start, we give the question papers to the supervisors, one hour before commencement, so that they can travel from the collection point to the various schools, where they will administer the examination.

“Immediately they get to the exam hall, they will open the pack in the name of distributing to candidates and they will snap and post to various designated platforms- WhatsApp, Instagram, and others.

“Such persons are members of a syndicate group who collect money,’’ he explained.

Areghan said that the council had a method of detecting who snapped, who posted, who it was posted to, and which candidate’s question booklet was posted.