The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has shed light on how it uncovered instances of Artificial Intelligence (AI) being used to generate answers by some candidates who sat for the 2023 West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE).
In an interview on Eyewitness News on Citi FM, WAEC’s Head of Public Affairs, John Kapi, disclosed the examination body’s methods for identifying candidates who used AI-generated answers.
Kapi explained that some responses in the answer booklets raised red flags.
“I’m not familiar with the term you have used” or “I cannot detect the term you have used” were some of the responses.
Shockingly, these precise phrases appeared verbatim in candidates’ written responses, exposing the use of AI, according to Mr. Kapi.
Mr Kapi noted that WAEC is planning collaborative efforts with the Ghana Education Service (GES) to enforce stricter regulations on mobile phone usage in second-cycle institutions during the WASSCE.
Mr. Kapi said, “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.”
“The suspicion is that these questions were out there after the supervisors or invigilators or even candidates had taken snapshots and put them out there seeking assistance,” he added.
Regarding ongoing investigations into the use of mobile phones, AI, or the sharing of exam questions, Kapi assured the public that WAEC is actively looking into the matter.
“Suspected culprits will be invited for a fair hearing as part of due process,” he stressed.