An examiner, who chose to remain anonymous and goes by the alias Teacher Kofi, has alleged that sometimes they are called upon to be flexible and not strict in their marking of examination papers, especially during the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), for political expediency.

Speaking on the Class Morning Show on Class91.3FM in light of the ongoing BECE, which began on Monday, July 8, and is expected to end on Monday, July 15, 2024, Teacher Kofi bemoaned examination practices and claimed that examiners are sometimes urged to be lenient in their marking.

He told show host Kwame Dwomoh Agyemang, “Normally before we start the marking, we go for coordination where officials from WAEC and various zonal leaders of the various subjects meet on how we are to go about the marking. But in the course of the coordination, especially the BECE, they will tell us that it is political, so in the course of the marking, we shouldn’t be so strict, meaning sometimes we should compromise with the system.”

According to Teacher Kofi, “these things put fear in us, the examiners, and when we see some of these malpractices, all we can do is to write a report and produce evidence. After that, we don’t have any control over what decision is to be taken on what we have reported to our superiors.”

He explained that it is the zonal leaders who communicate the political angle, emphasizing, “They will tell us that the BECE, especially, is political. So when we are marking, we shouldn’t be strict. We should know that the students are our own children, our cousins, our nephews, and stuff like that. So we only listen to what they say and we also go by that.”

Teacher Kofi concluded by warning that Ghanaians should expect politically influenced results when the BECE is finished, especially since this year is an election year.