The Executive Director of Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch), Kofi Asare, has rejected claims that examination malpractice in Ghana is declining, arguing that available statistics point to the opposite.
Mr Asare said the prevalence of examination malpractice has increased considerably in recent years.
He cited data showing a rise from about 0.9% in 2018 to 13.5% in 2024, with the figure climbing further to 14.8% in 2025.
“I disagree with the President’s assertion that examination malpractice is declining,” he said.
Mr Asare said the trend recorded between 2024 and 2025 suggests the problem is becoming more serious rather than improving.
“Between 2024 and 2025, it did not decline. It will increase further from 13.5 percent to 14.8 percent. We are waiting for 2026 data,” he stated.
He also pointed to the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), where cases involving cancellations reportedly increased from 4.22% in 2024 to 28.95% in 2025.
“Actually, malpractice level, subject cancellations, both entire results and then subject cancellations, actually doubled, more than doubled from 4.22 in 2024 to 28.95 percent in 2025,” he said.
Mr Asare maintained that arrests alone should not be used to determine whether examination malpractice is reducing, arguing that the focus should be on the prevalence of the practice.
“For us at Eduwatch, we see this as a behavioural challenge for which the solutions should be change in attitude and behaviour,” he explained.
He said Eduwatch measures the problem by looking at the number of people involved rather than arrests, because comprehensive arrest data is unavailable.
“We measure progress by the number of people participating in the fraud, not the number of people being arrested, because we don’t have data for that,” he said.
Mr Asare added that more than 7,000 candidates had their results cancelled over subject-related examination malpractice, describing the figures as a concern that requires a different approach from education authorities.
He said the 2026 statistics would provide a clearer indication of whether the trend has begun to reverse.
