Candidates that employ AI are penalized by WAEC, and the results of the WASSCE are withheld.

?Concerned about the growing prevalence of test fraud in the nation, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has stated that pupils are being blamed for creating artificial intelligence (AI) answers on the 2023 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

Wendy Enyonam Addyonam, the Head of WAEC's National Office, called the situation regrettable and emphasized that in-depth inquiries were necessary to identify the perpetrators of the malpractice.

Given the nature of examination malpractice, she said it was impossible to exclude out the involvement of some school administrators, instructors, and parents.

Mrs. Addy-Lamptey remarked during a daylong seminar in Accra, "It is sad that the youth are being trained in this manner; some candidates are desperate to take their mobile phones into the halls to use artificial intelligence to answer questions."

Mrs. Addy-Lamptey declared that the existing state of affairs could not be allowed to worsen when kicking off a one-day session for Circuit Court judges and magistrates on its laws and procedures. The goal was to bring them up to date and assist them understand the laws.
Lecture

For the purpose of providing candidates accused of examination malpractice with a fair hearing, a seminar on WAEC statutes and operations was organized for Circuit Court judges and magistrates.

Additionally, it was done to educate them on the regulations governing examination misconduct, especially in the context of artificial intelligence.   

The session covered the WAEC Act, 2006 (Act 719), examination malpractice trends, and operational procedures of WAEC.

In cooperation with the Judicial Training Institute, it was planned.
Misconduct

In order to maintain the integrity of the exams, Mrs. Addy-Lamptey said that a number of legal difficulties pertaining to tests have arisen over the previous seven years. As a result, the judiciary must be involved as a significant partner.

In accordance with Sections 6 (b) and (c) of the WAEC Act 2006 (Act 719) "A candidate shall be liable to summary conviction, a fine of not less than fifty penalty units and not more than one hundred penalty units, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or to both, if, during an examination, (a) is in possession of a textbook, electronic device, or material in the examination room without lawful authority, proof of which shall be on the candidate; (b) copies from notes, electronic device, or a textbook without lawful authority, proof of which shall be on the candidate.

As to the Section, "The person shall furthermore be disqualified from taking the examination, and if the person has already taken a paper at the examination, the council shall cancel the paper."
Methodology

According to her, the seminar was also a component of WAEC's five-year plan to address issues including providing fair trials for those accused of test malpractice and punishing offenders with deterrents, among other things.

She continued by saying that the council found it challenging to operate within the law because hundreds of students were occasionally accused of compromising the exam's integrity.

She went on to remark that the seminar will allow the council to minimize expenses while operating more efficiently within the law and that the council was prepared to follow the court's lead in preserving the integrity of exams.
Results withheld

Last Monday, WAEC announced the results of the 2023 school candidates in Accra. The results of 235 schools' candidates were excluded from the results because they were suspected of employing artificial intelligence (AI) to generate their answers.

In addition, 647 candidates' subject scores were canceled by WAEC for bringing printed materials, textbooks, and prepared notes into the testing rooms.

The possession of mobile phones in examination halls resulted in the cancellation of results for up to 839 applicants. Additionally, the council withheld the results of 1,005 candidates for other suspected offenses and the subject results of 4,280 candidates.

According to a statement released by the council on Monday, the results of the candidates who had their results withheld could either be released or canceled based on the findings of the investigations.
Past Events

In 2021, 1,339 applicants had their WASSCE subject results canceled, and 174 had their complete set of results canceled.

In the WASSCE of 2022, 518 school candidates had their whole set of results annulled while 3,845 school candidates had their subject results cancelled.

This year, 312 students had their subject results from the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) annulled, and 41 candidates had their whole results canceled.

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