The 2024 Presidential Candidate of the Progressive Alliance of Ghana (PAG), Dr. John Kpikpi, has suggested that the poor WASSCE results recorded this year may be a more accurate reflection of Ghana’s educational performance, one that has long been concealed by widespread examination malpractice.

Speaking in an interview on Metro TV’s Good Afternoon Ghana programme, Dr. Kpikpi said the latest results, which have sparked a national debate, should not surprise anyone who understands the depth of malpractice that has taken root in schools across the country.

He argued that for years, unethical practices during examinations have created an illusion of academic excellence.

Dr. Kpikpi explained that many parents openly pay illegal fees to teachers and schools, who in turn collaborate with invigilators to influence exam outcomes.

According to him, this practice has become so entrenched that it has misled the nation into believing students were performing better than they actually were.

He commended the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) for what appears to be a renewed effort this year to clamp down on cheating, which he believes has exposed the true state of academic performance in the country.

Dr. Kpikpi insisted that rather than lamenting the decline in results, stakeholders should confront the uncomfortable reality revealed by stricter supervision and use it as a turning point to address deep-seated problems in the education system.

“I wonder whether these results we’ve seen now are actually the real results that we shall be receiving all these years, but they have been masked by serious exam malpractice, which is entrenched and practised across this country.

In most schools, parents happily pay money, and schools receive money from parents to buy invigilators.

In fact, it has become the norm.

It looks like this year, WAEC found a way to dig in and tackle all of these, and the result is what is coming out without the mask on it.” He concluded with a firm observation.