Ghana Education in Crisis Over AI, Cheating, Reading Decline
Ghana’s education system is in crisis as AI misuse, rampant exam cheating and a sharp decline in reading culture threaten learning outcomes, experts warn.
Professor Stephen Adei, former vice‑chancellor of the University of Ghana, described the situation as “a moral decay eating into the fabric of our nation”. He told a recent forum that exam malpractice has become so normalised many students no longer see it as wrong.
In 2025 the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) cancelled more than 7,000 results over impersonation, leaked papers and unauthorised digital devices – one of the highest cancellation rates in recent years.
Kofi Asare, executive director of Africa Education Watch, stressed that the focus must shift from politicising the scandal to systemic reform. “The real issue is not politics, it is the weakness of our education system. We cannot fix learning by shouting at WAEC; we must fix the system itself,” he said.
At the tertiary level Ghanaian universities are grappling with AI‑generated assignments. Veteran English teacher Casey Cuny called the phenomenon “the worst I’ve seen in my career”, adding that lecturers struggle to verify whether essays are genuinely authored.
Internationally, French teachers Aude Paul and Marie Perret warned that AI has rendered homework “dead and effortless”, allowing students to generate complete essays with arguments, examples and references within minutes.
A senior lecturer at a local university noted that Ghana’s already weak reading and critical‑thinking skills make the AI challenge even more acute.
The reading crisis compounds the problem. The 2025 National Literacy Trust survey in the UK showed only 327 out of 1,000 children aged eight to eighteen enjoy reading, and just 187 read daily. Ghanaian educators say the figures are worse at home, with pupils preferring TikTok videos, gossip blogs and AI summaries over books.
During a recent PTA meeting, a basic school teacher lamented, “Most children cannot read a simple paragraph without struggling, yet they can spend hours scrolling on their phones. How do we expect them to write essays without copying from AI?”
Professor Adei warned that the intersection of AI dependence, exam dishonesty and declining reading habits creates a dangerous cocktail that could produce graduates with certificates but without competence, critical thinking or problem‑solving skills.
Experts call for urgent reforms: greater emphasis on in‑class writing, oral examinations and supervised research projects; training students to use AI as a learning tool rather than a shortcut; revitalising community libraries, school reading clubs and competitions; and introducing biometric registration, stricter supervision and prosecution of organised cheating.
Ghana stands at a critical juncture. Without systemic change, the blend of AI misuse, cheating and weak literacy could erode the nation’s long‑term human capital. As one lecturer warned, “If we allow AI to think for our students, we will pay for it in the next decade.”
Image Source: MYJOYONLINE
