Crime & Punishment of Thursday, 26 April 2007

Source: GNA

Supervisor held over missing question papers

Accra, April 26, GNA - The Police on Thursday arrested an examinations supervisor at Quaye Nungua Junior Secondary School in Accra following the disappearance of 15 question papers from a set of Vocational Skills papers in the ongoing Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

Officials of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) found that the envelope in which the questions were had been cut open and the question papers had disappeared.

The Vocational Skills paper was to be written later on Thursday afternoon and the envelope with the question papers had been in the custody of the supervisor, Daniel Nyanu. Two candidates are to be handed over to the Police to assist in investigations.

A source close to WAEC told the GNA that the Council received information that "things were not going on well at the centre" so its officials moved there to investigate.

When they got there, they detected that Vocational Skills question papers, which had been handed over to the supervisor, had been tampered with.

The source said when Nyanu was queried he could not explain why the envelop had been tampered with and 15 question papers removed. He was therefore handed over to the Police for further questioning. The source expressed worry about the conduct of the Nyanu, saying, "in this electronic era we don't know where he had sent the questions." The source cautioned examination supervisors against such conduct saying WAEC would not spare anybody who fell foul of the law. He also reminded students of the heavy fines and possible imprisonment if one was found to be engaged in any examination malpractice. The BECE, which started on April 23 end on April 27.