Leakage scandal: Shutting down rogue sites beyond our powers – WAEC

The West African Examination Council has said that shutting down internet sites purportedly peddling answers to questions in the ongoing Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination and jamming of mobile networks around its examination halls, across the country, are beyond its powers.
WAEC said that, contrary to what obtained in some other countries regarding such rogue sites, the examination body lacked the powers and the capability to exercise such controls around its centres nationwide.
The council said this following the arrest of some suspects belonging to the WASSCE question and answer syndicate by the police in Lagos.
WAEC noted, in a statement obtained by our correspondent, that this measure would have been an effective solution to the menace of rogue websites encouraging examination malpractices among the WASSCE candidates.
The council also said that it had yet to establish any case of leakage or foreknowledge of examination questions in the ongoing 2018 WASSCE as reported in the media.
“Though an effective solution to the menace of rogue websites can either be the jamming of mobile networks within a specified radius in and around the examination halls or shutting down of the internet throughout the country during the period of the examination as has been done in some countries, but those are beyond the powers of the council,” the WAEC Registrar, Dr. Uyi Uwadiae, said in the statement.
The council, however, stressed that that the integrity of the ongoing WASSCE for school candidates 2018 had not been compromised as no single case of leakage or foreknowledge of the questions had been established.
It, therefore, assured the general public that the activities of the operators of the rogue websites and fraudulent Whatsapp platforms peddling solved answers for a fee would not affect the integrity of the ongoing examination.
Uwadiae said, “The council wishes to commend the Inspector General of Police for directing the IGP Monitoring Team, which had been collaborating with the council in the past two years. This collaboration with the IGP Monitoring Team resulted in the arrest of some individuals connected with the syndicate in different locations around the country early last year.
“The individuals were paraded at the Force Headquarters, Abuja and subsequently charged to court. The council hopes that this collaboration will continue so as to checkmate the nefarious activities of these unscrupulous individuals.
“However, the council would like to emphasise that the question papers for the ongoing WASSCE for school candidates 2018 did not leak as has been erroneously portrayed in the media. Leakage can be said to have occurred when the question papers get into the hands of individuals who are not supposed to have them before the time scheduled on the timetable. Without any iota of doubt, the council wishes to state that no case of leakage has been established since the beginning of the examination.”