BECE leakage - tribunal remands typesetter in custody

A 54 year-old typesetter with the Commercial Associates Limited, a printing firm in Accra, has been remanded in prison custody by an Accra Circuit Tribunal in connection with the leakage of this year(quote)s Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) question papers.

Commercial Associates was contracted last year by the West African Examination Council (WAEC), to print this year?s BECE examination question papers.

Daniel Poku pleaded not guilty to the charge of causing the leakage of the examination papers and causing economic loss to the West African Examination Council (WAEC).

Police Prosecutor, Inspector Emmanuel Boison told the tribunal chaired by Mr Imoru Ziblim that the Poku who was requested to typeset some of the questions had access to all the examination questions.

He took illegal possession of some of the question papers in English Language, Mathematics, Agricultural Science, General Science, Religious and Moral Education, Pre-Technical Skills, Pre-Vocational Skills and Social Studies. Poku allegedly later made photocopies of the papers and passed them on to his son, Benjamin Poku, who is on the run, to sell to a number of schools.

The Prosecutor said some of the leaked questions got to Dambai in the Volta region and other parts of the country.

He said following a tip off, the Police were able to arrest some people with the leaked question papers at Dambai, Hohoe and Accra, which also led to the arrest of the accused.

As a result of the mass leakage, Education Minister Professor Ameyaw-Akumfi cancelled the entire examination, conducted in April.

The rewriting of the cancelled papers is estimated to cost about five billion cedis. Daniel Poku would reappear before the court on June 13.