The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has said all invigilators involved in exam malpractice during the recently concluded West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) will face legal consequences.

The exam, which began on Monday, 5 August 2024, with Visual Arts project work and ended on Friday, 20 September 2024, saw multiple instances of misconduct reported.

Among the breaches cited by WAEC were the distribution of answers to candidates, smuggling of mobile phones into exam halls by both candidates and teachers, and the use of projectors and boards to display answers for students to copy.

John Kapi, WAEC’s Head of Public Relations, revealed that several invigilators have already been fined, while others are awaiting legal proceedings. Ongoing investigations will ensure all culpable individuals are held accountable under the law.

“Once we pick up a mobile phone from you, it is an obvious infraction, and with that, we cancel the entire results. For those that had answers projected on the board, it was stopped, but we could not prevent the candidates from continuing their exams at that moment,” Mr. Kapi stated.

He added that invigilators who fled the scene were reported to school authorities for further action.

“With those who ran away, we asked the heads of the schools to produce them. Every teacher involved was handed over to the police. Some have had their cases adjudicated and paid fines, while others still face court proceedings or have been remanded. For the teachers, immediate action was taken, but for the candidates, they are usually allowed to finish the exam, and investigations follow afterward,” he noted.

WAEC expressed its gratitude to stakeholders who helped uncover these attempts to cheat and reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring credible and fair examinations despite the challenges encountered.

The council assured the public that it will continue to uphold the integrity of its examinations and hold all violators accountable.