The West African Examinations Council
EXAMINATION LOOP, RIDGE
P. O. BOX 917, ACCRA, GHANA.
CABLE: EXAMS ACCRA.
TEL.: 685901 - 4
TELEFAX: (23321) 223002
EMAIL: waecaccra@yahoo.com
Our Ref: HNO/PRESS HOUSES/VOL.1/58
Date: 23rd January, 2013.
Bishop Dag Heward-Mills,
Light House Chapel International,
Kaneshie,
Accra.
Dear Bishop Heward-Mills,
RE: JHS/SHS SYSTEM BOGUS, USELESS
This is an open letter to your good self.
On Thursday, January 10, 2013 a story under the caption “JHS/SHS System
- Bogus, Useless – Bishop Heward Mills” was carried in The Ghanaian Times
newspaper. A similar article was also carried on myjoyonline.
It has been more than a week after the story was carried and, in our view,
enough time has lapsed for you to either disown or clarify the quotations
touching on the operations of The West African Examinations Council, which
were attributed to you.
In the article you were reported to have said:
“………they should come back to ‘O’ Level and ‘A’ Level and go for the
Examination Council of England not Ghana WAEC where everything is ‘apo’
(leakage of questions – there is no integrity in the exams at all, it is a bogus
system”.
The article also stated as follows:
“He (Bishop Heward-Mills) noted that the JHS and SHS system has made it
possible for people to pay the officials who prepare the exams questions to leak
the exams questions ahead of the exams”.
In our opinion, these are very serious statements calculated at discrediting
the work and image of The West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
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For your information WAEC is a member of the International Association of
Educational Assessment (IAEA) and also of the Association of Educational
Assessment in Africa (AEAA). Among the members, WAEC is adjudged to be
Africa’s foremost examining body and highly placed internationally outside
Africa.
It might interest you to know that when the Botswana Examinations Council
was developing their systems they called on the University of Cambridge Local
Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), U.K. for assistance. Owing to our high
international reputation the University of Cambridge Local Examinations
Syndicate rather recommended WAEC to the Botswana Examinations Council
which paid a benchmark visit to the Ghana Office of WAEC to study our
systems of test development, test administration and security of test papers
in order to use it as their model.
Other examining boards which have paid benchmark visits to WAEC, Ghana
include
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

The Kenya National Examinations Council,
The National Examinations Council of Tanzania,
Uganda Examinations Board.
The Council currently collaborates and conducts various examinations on
behalf of several examining bodies including
 Educational Testing Services (ETS), U.S.A.
 Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), U.K.
 University of London International Programme (ULIP), U.K.
 Paris Graduate School of Management (PGSM), France
 Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), U.K.
 Cambridge International Examinations (CIM), U.K.
 Association of Business Executives (ABE), U.K.
Yet still, reputable institutions in some French-speaking countries in North
and West Africa are constantly knocking on our doors to conduct
examinations for them.
It is therefore unfortunate that despite the strides that WAEC is making
you (Bishop Dag Heward-Mills) will smear our hard earned image with such
pronouncements.
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Like. every human institution, WAEC does not claim perfection. However,
regarding leakage of examination papers, we are aware that certain
unscrupulous persons take advantage of the vulnerability of prospective
candidates and peddle false documents as leaked questions. The culprits,
when arrested, are handed over to the police for further action.
There are other forms of examination malpractices which WAEC is combating
but none of these, so far, is ascribable to any official of WAEC. This is due to
the high sense of duty, integrity and professionalism the staff of WAEC have
imbibed.
To curb these other forms of malpractices the Council has embarked upon a
series of sensitization programmes to educate candidates and members of the
public about the negative effects of examination malpractice. In this vein, the
Council would wish that you collaborate with her to sensitize members of
your congregation and the public at large on this canker that is threatening
the moral fibre of our society.
We are ready to further educate you on the operations of WAEC if so desired.
WAEC frowns seriously on falsehood and would not want to cover up for or
harbor any of its own who engages in a malpractice or fraudulent act.
You are therefore invited to provide information and evidence to substantiate
your allegation of “…..people …..pay officials who prepare the exams questions
to leak the exams questions ahead of the exams”. This is to enable the
Council investigate such officers and take appropriate action on them to
maintain our quest of contributing to educational excellence in Ghana and
the West African sub-region as a whole.
Should you be unable to do this, we advise that you take steps to retract the
statements and apologise, giving it the same publicity as the statements
made.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully
Agnes Teye-Cudjoe (Mrs.)
Head, Public Affairs
for: Head of National Office
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