The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has shed light on how it identified candidates who utilized Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms during the 2023 West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE). The provisional results released on Monday unveiled instances of malpractice, leading to the withholding and cancellation of results.
WAEC disclosed that the results of candidates who engaged in AI-generated answers in 235 schools have been withheld. Mr. John Kapi, the Head of Public Affairs at WAEC, explained the detection process, revealing that candidates copied incorrect responses provided by AI platforms.
Kapi elaborated, stating, “One candidate typed in the question, and the response was that ‘I’m not familiar with the term you have used,’ and the candidate wrote the same response in the answer booklet. Another candidate wrote, ‘I cannot detect the term you have used.’ This is a clear indication of the use of AI.”
Highlighting the evolving challenge of cheating methods, Kapi acknowledged the historical use of mobile phones for sending snapshots and pre-solved answer sheets. However, the emergence of AI as a cheating method poses a new and significant challenge for examination integrity.
WAEC is set to collaborate with the Ghana Education Service (GES) to enforce strict adherence to rules concerning mobile phone usage in second-cycle institutions. Kapi also emphasized ongoing investigations into the use of mobile phones, AI, or intercepted questions.
“We’ve monitored all the rogue websites that were publishing the questions we had put out there. Our investigations and some reports that were received from national security indicated that all the questions that were found online were put out there after the commencement of the examination,” Kapi stated, emphasizing the importance of candidates engaging in independent work for certification.
Candidates suspected of using AI will be invited for a fair hearing as WAEC continues to address the challenges posed by evolving cheating methods in high-stakes examinations.
