Ahantaman Girls’ SHS Headmistress Exposes Startling Exam Malpractice Case as Schools Struggle With Declining Performance
The Headmistress of Ahantaman Girls’ Senior High School, Madam Ernestina Kankam, has raised serious concerns about growing examination malpractice in pre-tertiary education, revealing a disturbing case that highlights the extent of the problem.
Speaking amid nationwide discussions on the causes of poor student performance in the 2025 WASSCE, Madam Kankam disclosed that a newly admitted first-year student who reportedly scored an impressive aggregate of 14 in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) could not even write her own name upon arrival in school.
According to her, the student later confessed that a teacher had written the exam on her behalf.
Madam Kankam cited this shocking incident as an example of the systemic issues undermining the credibility of basic education assessments. She warned that such practices not only misrepresent students’ true abilities but also place teachers and SHS administrators under unnecessary pressure when learners begin to struggle academically in senior high school.
She further emphasized that when students enter SHS with fraudulently boosted BECE results, they face difficulties adapting to the academic rigour required at that level. This, she noted, eventually reflects in their poor performance in WASSCE exams.
“School authorities are blamed for poor results, but no one considers that some students enter with fake academic foundations. If a student with aggregate 14 cannot write her own name, how do we expect her to cope with SHS coursework?” she lamented.
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Her remarks add to ongoing public conversations about what many stakeholders describe as rising exam malpractice, inadequate supervision, and the commercialization of education at the basic level.
Education analysts have called for tighter monitoring of BECE centres, stricter punishment for offenders, and stronger collaboration between the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), the Ghana Education Service (GES), and teacher unions to safeguard the integrity of national examinations.
Madam Kankam believes that addressing such malpractice is essential if Ghana hopes to improve WASSCE outcomes in the coming years.
“This is not just about one student; it is a reflection of a deeper challenge. Unless we tackle it, we will continue to see low performance at the SHS level,” she concluded.
The revelation has sparked renewed calls for reforms to ensure fairness, transparency, and credibility in Ghana’s education assessment system.
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