The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has, in consultation and congruence with the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE), established and launched a Task Force to eliminate malpractices and irregularities in public examinations to be conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
This came after key stakeholders signed a communiqué, on July 16, 2020, at the end of a high level consultative meeting held at the Atlantic Hotel in Freetown, in which key stakeholders in the education sector participated.
The ACC said in a statement on Wednesday that the Task Force will collaborate with other partners, especially the Sierra Leone Police and MBSSE leadership, to promote and deepen integrity, accountability and sanity in the conduct of the National Primary School Examination (NPSE), 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, when they receive crucial information about examination malpractice cells and networks, and will arrest and detain all involved when they find evidence on exams malpractice on site, according to the Commission.
In the statement the Commission further drew the attention of the public to Section 128 (3) of the Anti-Corruption Amended Act of 2019, which states: “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 himself or another person commits an offence.”
The ACC in its statement encouraged members of the public to make complaints or reports to the ACC, at its 3 Gloucester Street , Lotto Building and Tower Hill offices in Freetown, 10 Bo-Pujehun Drive, Kebbie Town in Bo, Reservation Road, Off Maxwell Khobe Street in Kenema, Mena Hills in Makeni, 27 Conteh Street in Port Loko and 37 Masingbi Road, 555 Spot in Kono; or on the hotlines 077-985-985, 077-986-986, or 515 – free on all networks except Qcell.
By Salleiu S. Kanu
23/07/2020. ISSUE NO.: 7872