The Head, National Office of West African Examination Council (WAEC), Patrick Ehidiamen Areghan, said on Wednesday that some supervisors were involved in malpractice in the ongoing West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
He said they took question papers somewhere to snap and send to some designated WhatsApp groups for the benefit of their candidates.
Areghan said, so far, the body had apprehended some of the perpetrators in Nasarawa, Rivers and Bauchi states and on Wednesday, some were to be arrested in Kano.
The Head, National Office stated this on Wednesday in Abuja while on inspection to Federal Government Boys College, Abuja to see the level of compliance with COVID-19 principles and the response of the students to the examination situation.
He explained that the question papers are customized. “Anyone you post out is for a candidate and so when we arrest them, the candidate will explain and the supervisor will explain.
“So, both of them have a case to answer.
“We are going to arrest many of them today.”
“What has been happening is a very condemnable and despicable act.
“Some so-called supervisors, who the ministry of education reposed confidence in, selecting them as men and women of integrity and sent them to us to engage as supervisors, carried out the act,” he said.
“Today is bad market for them because we have a technology in place for reporting such conduct once that is posted on net, I get them and decode them and I have just sent a message to branch controller in Kano to go to the schools and arrest some supervisor.
“Even if you are in London, we will get you,” he said.
“I have written to the Inspector General of Police because they have a mechanism in place to detect all these things.
“So we are working hand in hand and all the people we arrest will be transferred to Abuja.
“We will parade them, name them and shame them to serve as deterrent to others.”
He, however, said no centre would be closed for now until the end of the examination when marking is done and there is obvious evidence that a particular school did organized cheating.
“That’s when we will visit them with sanction, the school will be derecognized for about two years or outright withdrawal of recognition,” he added.
