School Watchman In Police Net for WAEC Exam Scandal

WAEC National Office

The night watchman of Nioro Jattaba Basic Cycle School is lingering behind bars following examination malpractice suspected to have occurred at the school causing the cancellation of the General Science Paper in the ongoing Gambia Basic Education Certificate Examination (GABECE) powered by West African Examination Council (WAEC) on Wednesday 9^th May 2012.

 

Sutay Bah was arrested along with the Acting Principal and some staff of the School in Kiang West the Mansakonko region by the Kwenella Police Station.

 

Their arrest came after unknown burglar(s) vandalised the offices of the school and tampered with the exam package containing the Science paper on the eve of the presentation of the paper.

 

Numo Saidykhan, Acting Principal of Nioro Jattaba Basic Cycle School confirmed that all his staff are back to work after some hours of the police interrogation but the night watchman, was still in police custody.

 

Nioro Jatta BSC

He however refused to comment further as the matter is under police investigation but the Gambia Police Force (GPF) spokesperson promised to give details of the case.

 

Village sources said the padlocks on two offices including the principal’s office were broken before the thieves break into the Vice Principal’s office where the papers were kept.

 

Upon arriving at the school in the morning, the WAEC exams supervisor reported the matter to the WAEC office in Mansakonko who forwarded it to WAEC sub-regional headquarters in Banjul.

 

Pateh Bah, the head of the WAEC Gambia Office confirmed to the Daily Observer Newspaper that “The lock of the door (at the school) was damaged and envelopes containing 50 question papers was opened” causing the lost of “two copies of the question paper.”

 

Students in the ninth grade would have labelled the parts of an Electric Circuit diagram before going into naming what was understood to be a popular Tilapia Fish and its parts as question one and two respectively of the cancelled General Science theory paper. 

 

After so many schools have completed a forty question objective paper of the science subject, the West African Examination Council (WAEC) made emergency calls to all its exams supervisors across the country to immediately stop the theory paper.

 

The news of exams stoppage was received with mixed feeling by students. While some are crying for fear of possible delay in their transition to the next grade, others were with smiling faces for what they see as a relief on them.

 

A senior education officer said the scandal responsible for the cancellation of the paper in such an internationally rated examination, could further stain the image of the education system in our country in particular and West Africa in general. 

Source: Campus and Field News