Africa-Press – Sierra-Leone. The Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE), Conrad Sackey, has confirmed that the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has withheld 13,213 results from the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) due to suspected examination irregularities.
Announcing the results in Freetown, Minister Sackey said a total of 143,985 candidates sat for the examination across Sierra Leone. He further disclosed that over 3,500 candidates’ results were not released because their respective schools failed to settle examination fees owed to WAEC.
This marks the third consecutive year that a significant portion of WASSCE results in Sierra Leone has been withheld. In 2024, 27,097 candidates’ results were held back, while in 2023, over 20,000 results faced similar issues. Despite repeated interventions and government assurances, the pattern remains largely unchanged, raising concerns about persistent malpractice and weak school accountability systems.
Education analysts say the recurring withholding of results not only undermines the integrity of the national examination process but also affects students’ academic progression and morale. Many affected candidates may lose opportunities for university admission or scholarships while awaiting WAEC’s final decisions.
This year’s results paint a mixed picture overall. While some schools recorded exceptional performance, the English Language results declined sharply, with only 11.77% of candidates obtaining credit or better, and 63% failing the subject , one of the poorest outcomes in recent years.
Meanwhile, Kamboi Senior Secondary School in Kenema emerged as the Best Performing School for 2025, with all ten of its candidates qualifying for direct university entry. Kabala Christian Secondary School also maintained strong results, with all students meeting the minimum entry requirement.
Minister Sackey reiterated that Sierra Leone remains an active member of WAEC , a regional body jointly managed by Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Ghana, The Gambia, and Liberia and that decisions are made collectively. “No one works in silo,” he said.
He also explained the ongoing Continuous Assessment Scores (CAS) process, which contributes 30% to the overall WASSCE grading. Despite improvements in compliance, 47 schools failed to upload CAS-3 grades, potentially affecting students’ final results.
As the nation celebrates its top achievers, the recurrence of withheld results continues to raise questions about discipline, monitoring, and accountability within the education system , an issue that has yet to be effectively addressed despite years of reform.
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