By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
Released Results of the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) indicated that 1,346,855 (one million, three hundred and forty-six thousand, eight hundred and fifty-five) passes were recorded, giving a pass rate of 83%, the highest ever recorded. The pass rates in 2021 and 2022 were 64% and 77%, respectively.
The results for the 2023 May/June WASSCE for school candidates was released to the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) on Friday 29th September 2023 and made available to the public through the Ministry’s website on the 3rd October 2023.
The list of results released also indicated that 191,077 (one hundred and ninety-one thousand and seventy-seven) candidates sat at least one subject, whilst another 6,658 (six thousand, six hundred and fifty-eight) had no results as they were absent for all subjects.
It stated that Candidate entry of 243,202 (two hundred and forty- three thousand, two hundred and two) for the 2023 WASSCE is the highest ever recorded, higher than the 163,860 (one hundred and sixty-three thousand, eight hundred and sixty) entry for the 2023 National Primary School Examination (NPSE) and the 206,874 (two hundred and six thousand, eight hundred and seventy-four) entry for the 2022 WASSCE.
The WASSCE results further indicated that out of the 230,973 (two hundred and thirty thousand, nine hundred and seventy-three) candidates on the results received by the MBSSE, 121,324 (one hundred and twenty one thousand, three hundred and twenty-four) were female and 109,649 (one hundred and nine thousand, six hundred and forty-nine) male, with female candidates accounting for 52.5%.
“This continues the trend of more female than male candidate entries for WASSCE,” the list reads.
Out of the 191,077 (one hundred and ninety-one thousand and seventy-seven) candidates that sat at least one subject and whose results have been released, 101,222 (one hundred and one thousand, two hundred and twenty-two) which represent 53% were female and 89,855 (eighty-nine thousand, eight hundred and fifty-five) were male.
The analyzed results show that a total of 1,630,980 (one million, six hundred thirty thousand, nine hundred and eighty) subject papers were sat by the 191,077 (one hundred and ninety-one thousand and seventy-seven) candidates that sat at least 1 subject.
The number of students obtaining the benchmark minimum of 5 credits in a single sitting is said to be the highest ever from 113,824 (one hundred and thirteen thousand, eight hundred and twenty-four) in 2022, to 137,796 (one hundred and thirty-seven thousand, seven hundred and ninety-six) in 2023 even with a large number of results still being withheld.
From a total of 243,202 (two hundred and forty-three thousand, two hundred and two) candidates from 888 (eight hundred and eighty-eight) schools in Sierra Leone that entered for the May/June West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in 2023, 34,525 (thirty-four thousand, five hundred and twenty-five) results were withheld.
The withheld results were the highest ever and are said to demonstrate the continuing efforts of the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) and West African Examination Council (WAEC) to eradicate examination malpractices.
Out of the list of results sent to the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) for publication, 28 private schools that are owing the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) were omitted from the list sent to the MBSSE which contained just 230,973 (two hundred and thirty thousand, nine hundred and seventy-three) names from 860 (eight hundred and sixty) schools.
The Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Conrad Sackey in a media interview said though the schools affected are private schools that do not fall under the purview of the Ministry, they will engage with WAEC to make sure that those results are released. He said the students affected are citizens of the country whom the ministry owes responsibility to and will ensure they are not disadvantaged.
The West African Senior School Certificate Examination is the end of formal school examinations in Sierra Leone and other West African countries. It is administered by the West African Examinations Council.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (04/10/23)
