Stability Analysis of a Mathematical Model for Examination Malpractice Dynamics

Abstract

Examination malpractice is one of the key challenges endangering the quality of education in Ghana. This negative act refers to any form of dishonesty or irregularity that compromises the integrity of any examination. In this paper, we proposed a mathematical model for exploring the dynamics of examination malpractice at the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) level in Ghana. The examination malpractice-free equilibrium is computed and shown to be both locally and globally stable if the examination malpractice reproductive number (R₀) is less than one. The examination malpractice endemic equilibrium is also derived and found to be globally asymptotically stable whenever R₀ is greater than one. Local sensitivity analysis is performed on the basic examination malpractice reproduction number to explore the contribution of the model parameters to the evil act of examination malpractice. Finally, numerical simulations are performed to illustrate the behavior of the model sub-classes.