Universities in Ghana are struggling to contain a surge in grade manipulation by students.
The country’s premier university the University of Ghana had its school grading system hacked into by some students who succeeded in changing their grades.
At least 20 students of the institution have been arrested by Ghana’s Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) for this alleged acts as investigations continue.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu at a public event said the students who hacked the school’s grading system failed to cover their traces.
The students were said to have paid between $300 and $500 to get their poor grades changed.
Local media Joy FM quoted Professor Owusu as saying that “We are aware students [are] soliciting for help, linking up to people around, trying to break through our system to change grades and to do all sort of funny things.”
Another local media Starr FM also reported that another state university, the University of Professional Students (UPSA) has sacked 22 of its students for grade manipulation.
A statement from the university read “The Academic Board took a serious view of this conduct considering the potential it has to damage the credibility of the University and therefore further resolved that seven of the dismissed students who refused to cooperate with the investigation process should have their photographs published alongside their names to serve as a deterrence.”
An educationist in Ghana, Anis Haffar told Starr FM that the mindset about education in Ghana and the emphasis on good grades has left many students with no choice but to get their grades changed.
Many of the universities in Ghana are finding new ways of securing their grading systems to prevent students and other unauthorized persons from tampering with them.
Source: Africafeeds.com
