A Public policy and consumer advocacy group, CUTS International, Accra, is calling on the Ministry of Education to intervene and stop the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) from charging students to access their examination results online.
In a statement issued on Monday, July 7, the West Africa Regional Director of CUTS, Mr. Appiah Kusi Adomako, described the practice as exploitative and unjustified.
He criticised WAEC’s use of scratch cards costing between GHS15 and GHS25 as a means for candidates to view their Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results.
According to him, this amounts to extortion, especially given the Council’s shift from physical result slips to an online platform, which significantly reduces logistical costs.
Mr. Adomako pointed out that in 2025 alone, nearly 600,000 BECE candidates are expected to pay GHS15 each to access their results, amounting to an estimated GHS9 million in total revenue for WAEC from result access fees.
CUTS is urging the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service, and Parliament’s Select Committee on Education to take immediate action to halt what it calls an unfair and illegal practice.
The group insists that keeping education accessible and affordable must be a national priority, stressing that the longevity of the result charges spanning over two decades does not make them right.