Ghana's Minister of Education, Harruna Iddrisu, has directed the West African Examinations Council to immediately reform its examination paper distribution system after candidates at multiple centres waited for question papers at the start of this year's Basic Education Certificate Examination.

The directive followed a monitoring visit by the minister to Boako M/A Basic School in the Sefwi Wiawso Municipality in the Western North Region, where he inspected examination arrangements alongside the Director General of the Ghana Education Service, Ernest Kofi Davis.

At the Boako centre, where 273 candidates were seated, answer booklets had already been distributed, but question papers had not arrived, leaving students waiting for 15 minutes after the scheduled start time.

"Ordinarily, you should have been 15 minutes into the exams. Is that not right? Part of your training was that you should have been seated at 8:30 and start the exams at 9:00. But I see answer sheets without question papers, and they are now on their way. So we have to review how exam questions are transported to the examination centres. So, Director General, we need immediate reforms," Iddrisu stated.

The Head of Public Affairs at WAEC, John Kapi, attributed the delays to distribution route designs by the GES at the local level, noting that the council does not have a presence in every district. He expressed hope that depot keepers and regional representatives would work with district authorities to redesign delivery routes.

Iddrisu also raised concerns about the deteriorated state of facilities at the Boako centre and pledged government intervention to improve infrastructure and provide adequate learning materials.

On examination malpractice, the minister cautioned the 620,141 candidates sitting the examination across 20,395 schools against any form of cheating, warning that results risked cancellation. He disclosed that 178 candidates were affected by malpractice in the previous year, and that eight teachers implicated in the exercise had been prosecuted and dismissed from the GES.

"We expect the highest standards of integrity from both candidates and invigilators," he added.

Similar delays of 15 minutes were also recorded at the Fire Armour examination centre in the La Nkwantanang Madina Municipality in the Greater Accra Region, with officials citing traffic conditions as the cause.