The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has rejected calls by the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) for urgent reforms to include student representation in national examination decision-making.
NUGS had raised concerns about what it described as the exclusion of student voices from critical WAEC committees such as the Ghana Examinations Committee and the WAEC Investigative Committee, which oversee exam cancellations and probe malpractice.
Responding to the call, the Head of WAEC’s National Office, Dr. Rosemond Wilson, argued that the Council already has adequate mechanisms to engage directly with stakeholders most affected by its decisions. She stressed that students, through NUGS, are not required in those structures.
“NUGS are students, and with our exams, invigilators and supervisors are supposed to be workers of the GES. NUGS are not staff of the GES, so they cannot invigilate or supervise our exams,” she said.
Dr. Wilson further explained that issues relating to exam malpractice and cancellations are handled directly with candidates, their parents, and teachers, making the role of NUGS unnecessary.
“When it comes to investigations, we deal directly with the candidate, and the minor candidates come along with their parents and teachers to do the investigations.
So, we do not actually need NUGS. We don’t know the role they want to play concerning the investigations,” she added.
