28 arrested over Legon exam leakage

Ghana’s premier university, the University of Ghana, Legon, was last Saturday hit by yet another examination malpractice scandal. This led to the arrest of 28 students who are mature students sitting for the 2011/2012 entrance examination.

According to information reaching Daily Guide, the students arrested include 10 females and 18 males. They are being detained in various police stations in the city, according to police sources. Out of the hundreds of registered matured students who turned up for the exams around 8am on Saturday morning, five of the students were arrested at the gate for having foreign materials in their pockets. “Whilst the examination was ongoing at about 10am, some of the invigilators on duty spotted some students copying solved examination questions into their answer booklets,” the source said.

The source averred that those grabbed by the invigilators for examination malpractices were handed over to security men on duty while the examination continued.

Meanwhile, an eyewitness at the scene told Daily Guide that a student who was writing the exam at the College of Agric, an examination centre, was caught copying out a solved English essay question into his answer booklet. “The male student grabbed had a solved question of the three-hour English paper that we were writing; I mean the essay portion and transcribing it into the answer sheet when an invigilator nabbed him.”The eyewitness reiterated that more than six invigilators were put in one hall to supervise the exams.

The papers believed to have been leaked include English language and General Paper, comprising logic, critical thinking and current affairs.

Confirming the story, a police source indicated that the students were arrested and handed over to the police around 7pm. The police source said some of the students were sent to Osu Police station, Nima and Cantonments Police cells due to lack of space in the Legon police station.

The source maintained that the student would be arraigned before court soon. Speaking to Daily Guide, the University’s Acting Director of Public Affairs, Stella Amoa, who confirmed the leakage, said the affected papers had been canceled and that the university would take appropriate action against perpetrators.