Examinations are academic assessment tools used to evaluate both the delivery methods employed by facilitators (teachers) as well as the learning attitudes of students as they complete a certain level within the academic/educational structure.

Over the years, the Ghanaian society perception about knowledge acquisition or intellectual brilliance has been associated with excellent results or best grades irrespective of how one gets it for the end justifies the means.

It is sad, the kind of picture we portray to these pupils when it comes to examinations. Instead on concentrating in their studies these children are confident of passing, not because they have studied but due to access to "APOR'.

The motivation is that ’APOR’ would come from a reliable source only known to them and the facilitators of these APOR.?

So why should someone entrusted with the examination papers be willing to betray such trust by leaking the papers out?

From the teams of examiners, WAEC officials in charge of printing of examination papers, printers, security officials, centre supervisors, invigilators etc who play direct role in handling of examination papers have over the years contributed to the consolidation of this canker in our educational system.

Most often, monetary inducement from some rich parents, school proprietors especially the private schools, religious leaders has greatly influenced the canker.

State perception of knowledge being equated to academic excellence cannot escape mentioning. The hailing and acknowledgment of excellent grades (paper qualification) as against ability to perform task, involving the application of tools and knowledge has also contributed to the problem. We hail best graded students yet they cannot perform in the field of work even in secondary schools.

For brand marketing purposes many schools rely on exam results to market their institutions; the more passes at the highest level means more parents choose those schools and charge higher fees.

The more students you have the greater money you make and so such schools goes all out to ensure they get the best grades for their students. Which parents will send his ward to a school and pay say (GHC 1,200) termly and at the end of the day the students comes home with bad grades?

Bad educational policies formulated by the MOE and being implemented by GES do not mostly enhance the catering for the individual differences of the child and more or less aimed at ridiculing the teacher who is at the centre of moulding the child. For example, performance target for teachers which has been instituted without its correlated factors to elicit collaborated action between the students, teachers, parents and educational directors.

Teachers and heads of schools are like slaves in the sight of MMDCEs, MPs and Ministers of state. No one opposes their commands or statements.

Technological advancement has contributed to scaling up of this canker across the educational levels of the country.

As a state, for us to come out of this canker, we need to identify our holistic needs for which we are pursuing a certain goal in education, so that we all can channel our efforts towards that goal. Other than that, we shall always become a reactionary state without focus.

The number of deviating tendencies affecting our students today is numerous and these have played great role in their approach towards learning.

The way forward is to have a national dialogue championed by NDPC that would come out with a blue print on time management of children, role of parents in education of their wards, media regulation especially on entertainment, decentralization of policy formulation on education taking into accounts the particular needs of every districts, role of religious leaders in education, punishment for examination offenders and monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of this blue print; taking into account all that would be needed to make it workable. It should be devoid of political machinations. Ghana must be the focus and goal.

By: Mahmood Bill
(Research officer CPAG)