By Mabinty M. Kamara
In a bid to clamp down on examination malpractice, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of Sierra Leone has launched a taskforce to monitor public examinations conducted by the West Africa Examinations Council (WAEC).
The formation of the taskforce, according to a press statement from the anti-graft agency, was done in consultation with the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE), following the signing of a communiqué on the 16th July, 2020.
The Taskforce, according to the statement, will collaborate with other partners, especially the Sierra Leone Police and the MBSSE leadership, to promote and deepen integrity, accountability and sanity in the conduct of public examinations, namely: the National Primary School Examination (NPSE), the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
"The Task Force will also be supported by a stand-by squad of the Elite Scorpion Squad of the Commission, who will swiftly move in, should intelligence establish organized examination malpractice cells and networks, and will arrest and detain all involved should they find evidence on site," the statement read.
The Commission therefore admonished the public to be mindful of Section 128 (3) of the Anti-Corruption Amended Act of 2019, which states thus: “a person who engages in corrupt activity or practice, in a programme organized or conducted by an educational institution or examination body, to confer advantage on him or another person, commits an offence”.
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