Sierra Leone education integrity and examination management

In Sierra Leone, the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) addressed the withholding of over 1,100 National Primary School Examination (NPSE) results. The initial withholding was primarily due to 61 schools failing to submit mandatory Continuous Assessment Scores (CASS), which constitute 10 per cent of a student’s final grade. While many schools subsequently submitted the required data, some results remained withheld due to registration failures and examination irregularities.

Following these developments, Sierra Leonean officials announced strengthened measures to combat examination malpractice and the use of fraudulent academic qualifications. Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education Conrad Sackey reported a 78.2 per cent pass rate for approximately 161,000 candidates, noting that 1,927 results were set aside. He clarified that approximately 1,640 of these instances were due to missing continuous assessment cards rather than direct malpractice.

Minister of Technical and Higher Education Dr. Haja Ramatulai Wurie called for a “zero-tolerance approach to academic dishonesty,” expressing concern over the weak implementation of existing sanctions. Officials emphasized the necessity of robust enforcement to prevent academic misconduct from influencing future professional leadership.