The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has confirmed the arrest of more than 40 teachers and examination officials for their alleged involvement in examination malpractice during the just-ended 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

According to WAEC, the arrests were made across multiple regions following intensified monitoring and intelligence gathering at examination centres nationwide. The suspects are currently assisting police investigations.

Speaking on the development, WAEC’s Head of Public Affairs, John Kapi, disclosed that the suspects were arrested in the Central, Bono, and Ashanti Regions after they were allegedly caught engaging in activities that compromised the integrity of the examination process.

Mr. Kapi explained that some of the suspects were found with mobile phones inside examination halls, contrary to WAEC regulations.

Investigations further revealed that some individuals allegedly photographed examination questions and circulated them on WhatsApp platforms, while others reportedly used artificial intelligence tools, including ChatGPT, to generate answers for candidates.

“Some solved questions on external platforms, others fed questions into AI tools such as ChatGPT, while some took snapshots of examination questions,” Mr. Kapi stated.

WAEC also revealed that one suspect was allegedly caught distributing prepared answers to candidates, while another was accused of duplicating answer sheets intended for circulation during the examination.

The Council indicated that all suspects have been handed over to the police for further investigations and possible prosecution.

Mr. Kapi expressed concern over the increasing cases of examination malpractice despite repeated warnings issued to candidates, teachers, invigilators, and supervisors ahead of the examinations.

“I think they are enticed by monetary considerations; otherwise, I wouldn’t understand why anybody would want to do this even after all the warnings,” he said.

WAEC has reiterated its commitment to protecting the credibility of national examinations and warned that any person found engaging in malpractice risks severe sanctions, including prosecution and cancellation of examination results.

The Council also commended whistleblowers and monitoring teams whose efforts helped uncover the malpractice cases.

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