A member of Parliament’s Education Select Committee, Dr. Kingsley Agyemang, has urged a comprehensive review of Ghana’s student assessment system to address the persistent challenge of examination malpractices.
Speaking on Joy FM on September 6, 2025, in response to reported malpractices during the 2025 BECE and the ongoing 2025 WASSCE, the Abuakwa South MP argued that the current model of evaluating students through a few hours of exams after years of schooling is inadequate.
“It is worrying that after spending about nine years in school, pupils are assessed within just three hours. Don’t you think we should rethink our assessment criteria? Unless we change the framework of assessment and how questions are presented, malpractice will continue,” he said.
Dr. Agyemang dismissed calls for the installation of CCTV cameras at exam centers as a solution, stressing that surveillance alone cannot eliminate cheating.
“Even if we install CCTVs, they won’t stop malpractice. At best, they will only record it. After all, if the question-setting system remains predictable, the temptation and opportunity for malpractice will always exist,” he noted.
He further emphasized that the country’s education system must evolve to meet modern realities.
“Society is changing. The workplace is changing. If our schools only teach students to pass a paper in three hours, we are failing them. Assessment must measure holistic learning and not just recall,” he argued.
The legislator assured that Parliament is committed to collaborating with stakeholders to develop sustainable solutions to end exam malpractices.
“Parliament is listening, and we will play our role. But the truth is this: if we don’t rethink assessment policy, we’ll keep discussing malpractice every single year,” he concluded.
