''Wei ɛnka ɔbɛtwa ako Tech yayaya''

Legend had it that an invigilator once caught an “A” Level student cheating and screamed those immortal words. 

Loosely translated: “This one would have passed spectacularly and it would pain me to see him go to Tech that way.”

It was not praise. It was lament.

The invigilator wasn’t impressed by the student’s intelligence. He was heartbroken that such talent was corrupted by dishonesty. The idea that someone could cheat their way to greatness and be celebrated for it was a source of pain, not pride.

That was then!

We were taught to value effort over shortcuts, integrity over results. If things didn’t go well, you sat Nov-Dec and tried again. There was dignity in the struggle, and shame in cheating.

But today?

We read of systemic exam malpractice. Leaked questions. Paid-for answers. Invigilators who take bribes to facilitate cheating. What used to be the scandal of a few has become the strategy of many.

What went wrong?

This is not just about exams. It’s about a society that is slowly normalizing fraud at every level:
* Students cheating in BECE and WASSCE;
* Parents paying for school placements
* Politicians forging degrees;
* Judges accepting bribes;
* Communities stealing water and electricity;
* Galamsey operators destroying rivers with impunity;
* Officials enriching themselves at the public’s expense;
* Pastors selling anointed oil while preaching against sin;
* Policemen collecting “nokofio” at every checkpoint;
•Unemployed diasporans parachuting home to join the corruption train;
* And everywhere you turn—someone cutting corners, greasing palms, or gaming the system.

It is the same canker. It wears different uniforms but speaks the same language: dishonesty, entitlement, impunity.

And like a virus, it spreads—from the classroom to the courtroom, from the pulpit to the parliament, from the village to the villa.

Exam malpractice is not an isolated evil. It feeds into a culture where dishonesty is rewarded and honesty is punished.

We must fight it. Not just with laws and punishments, but with a renewed moral culture. One that says:
* Do your best.
* If you fail, try again.
* If you succeed, let it be earned.

Because if we lose that, the next generation won’t even understand why that invigilator was pained. And that would be the real tragedy.

PS: Yɛde post no bɛto hɔ. Yɛnyɛ comprehension consultants.

Da Yie!

Source: Kweku AZAR