By Mohamed Kamara
Freetown, Sierra Leone — The Government of Sierra Leone has paid Six Hundred Thousand United States Dollars (USD 600,000) to enable 800 pupils, who were unable to sit the 2025 Government West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), to register for the upcoming private WASSCE. This was announced by the Minister of Basic and Secondary Education, Conrad Sackey, during a press briefing held on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at the Ministry of Information and Civic Education.
Minister Sackey disclosed that despite over a thousand schools being scheduled to participate in this year’s WASSCE, only 892 schools nationwide met the necessary registration criteria. He explained that the Ministry had multiple engagements with school principals, urging them to expedite candidate registration, but some failed to comply. He revealed that the Ministry uncovered widespread corruption, including manipulation of candidate names and subject choices through bribery, which resulted in unqualified candidates taking slots intended for deserving students.
“As a consequence, several schools have faced suspensions, and others have been issued warnings,” Sackey said, emphasizing that the Ministry is actively working on mechanisms to eradicate corruption from future examinations.
The Minister expressed confidence that the government’s Free Quality Education initiative could achieve its goals if strict measures—free from political interference—are implemented effectively. He also addressed recent criticisms circulating on social media and tabloids, lamenting that they often failed to verify facts with the Ministry before publication.
In an update on the ongoing WASSCE Basic Registration System (BRS) process on February 8, 2025, Sackey reported mixed progress across districts. While districts like Tonkolili and Pujehun had fully completed registration, others were trailing behind. For example, Bo registered 52 of 57 schools, Bombali 47 of 51, and Kenema 70 of 74 schools. The Western Area was the most concerning, with only 57% (232 of 405) schools completing registration, leaving over 170 schools at risk of missing the deadline.
The Minister urged all school administrators, teachers, and stakeholders to accelerate the registration process to ensure that no student is denied the opportunity to sit the exams due to bureaucratic delays.
“Timely registration is critical,” he said. “Any delays could disqualify pupils from sitting for the WASSCE, and we call on communities to support schools in completing this process.”
The Ministry’s intensified efforts aim to ensure transparency, accountability, and fairness in upcoming national examinations as the country strives to build a more equitable education system.
