The move, he said, is in line with President John Mahama’s commitment to eliminate nepotism and cronyism in the awarding of scholarships.

Speaking at the 2024 West African Examinations Council (WAEC) Distinction Awards Ceremony in Accra, Mr. Iddrisu stated that 10 awardees would benefit from government scholarships.

“The introduction of the Bill... would be done in few weeks in fulfillment of the President’s pledge to Ghanaians to deal with nepotism and cronyism that was associated with the award of scholarship in the country,” he said.

He affirmed that “all awardees churned out by the WAEC will qualify for President John Mahama’s policy for Scholarship.”

Addressing issues of student conduct, Mr. Iddrisu urged the Ghana Education Service (GES) to take disciplinary action against students lacking integrity.

“To our students and to GES, you have the full backing of the state to deal ruthlessly with any student who wants to walk without integrity,” he warned.

The Minister stressed the importance of character development in education, saying,

“We need to go beyond the provision of numeracy and arithmetic.”

“We should be concerned about social and emotional well-being of our students and be also more concerned particularly character molding.”

Mr. Iddrisu expressed concern over rising dishonesty and misuse of mobile phones among students, describing them as emerging threats.

While acknowledging the positive potential of phones in learning, he noted their misuse of academic dishonesty.

“Any training at this level which does not build and mold character and focuses only on literacy and numeracy, we may not be

producing the leaders for tomorrow. You have nothing to walk into the world without integrity,” he said.

The Minister also welcomed the restoration of the academic calendar for the BECE and WASSCE to its pre-COVID schedule.

He encouraged awardees to remain focused and continue striving for excellence.

“Dream big but act with character and integrity. You can pass exams with honesty, and you must proceed with honesty,” he advised.

Mr. Iddrisu commended WAEC for successfully conducting the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) despite challenges and pledged government support for WAEC’s 74th International Annual Council Conference in 2025.

Dr. Mrs. Rosemond Wilson, Head of WAEC’s National Office, acknowledged that exam malpractice remained a major challenge, noting the misuse of technology such as photo-sharing on digital platforms.

She urged the awardees to be ethical role models because “They could pass examinations without cheating.”

Six exceptional students were honoured with laptops and cash prizes.

David Nii Commey Ankrah (New Hope College) was named the overall best candidate in Ghana for the 2024 WASSCE and best in the General Science Programme.

Henschel Tabi Frempong-Manso (Kade Senior Technical School) was the second-best overall.

Debrah Benedict Ofori (Presbyterian Boys’ SHS) placed third.

Ameera Issifu (Legacy Girls College) was best in General Arts.

Uriel Yeboah Afreh (Ghana Christian International High School) topped the Business Programme.

Virtues Akye Mensah (St. Mary’s Boys’ SHS) was best in the Visual Arts Programme.