A district court in the Central Region town of Kasoa has sentenced three individuals, including a high-school teacher and two university students, to a combined 20 months in prison for their roles in a coordinated cheating scheme during the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

The Kasoa-Ofaakor District Magistrate Court found the trio guilty of various exam-related offenses, ranging from impersonation to the possession and dissemination of leaked examination content.

Samuel Armah, a teacher at Ghana College Senior High School who was serving as an invigilator during the Social Studies Paper 1 exam, was found with leaked answers on his mobile phone, which he was dictating to candidates. The court fined Armah 80 penalty units and sentenced him to eight months in prison.

Also convicted were Kwame Oteng Nkansah, a first-year student at Accra Technical University, and Amedeka James, a freshman at the University of Ghana. Both were sentenced to six months behind bars and fined 80 penalty units each. Nkansah was apprehended while writing the exam on behalf of a Ghana College SHS candidate, Quayson Francis Atta, while James was caught impersonating his twin brother, Amedeka Justice.

The arrests come amid heightened concerns over academic integrity in the region’s most critical secondary school examination. The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), which oversees the WASSCE, has come under increasing pressure in recent years to crack down on widespread malpractice.

During a monitoring visit to a Kasoa examination center, Seth Sabah Sewornoo-Banini, Chief Executive of the Awutu Senya East Municipality, cited poor seating arrangements and procedural lapses that may have enabled the infractions. He pledged that reforms would be implemented to tighten oversight going forward.

Frank-Etrue Hayford, Municipal Education Director, condemned the misconduct and emphasized his office’s commitment to upholding the credibility of the national examination system.

“The integrity of our examinations is non-negotiable,” Hayford said. “Any breach threatens the foundation of our education system and the future of our youth.”