By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
12-year-old Amida Sarlahmata Tejan from Modern High School has been announced by the Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE), Conrad Sackey as the top candidate in this year’s Junior School leaver examination.
According to the Minister, the girl passed all 8 of her subjects in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) with an aggregate score of 6, an average grade of 1.13, where she obtained a 1 in all her 7 subjects and a 2 in 1 subject. She was said to be closely followed by another candidate with an aggregate score of 6, and an average score of 1.38 due to 1 in 6 subjects, a 2 in 1 subject, and a 3 in another subject.
In 2022, another girl Bintu Louise Wright, a student of Providence International Senior High School topped the exam with an excellent score of A1 in all eight subjects scoring an aggregate of six and an average grade of 1.00
The Minister announced the latest BECE results on the 27th of October 2023.
According to Minister Sackery, the number of candidates obtaining a minimum of 5 passes in the BECE inclusive of Language Arts or Mathematics has increased by 85.5% in the period 2018-23. He stated that in 2023, one hundred and nineteen thousand, eight hundred and one (119,801) candidates obtained a minimum of 5 passes inclusive of Language Arts or Mathematics, which is the highest ever.
“This gives a BECE pass rate for the general SSS programme of 96. This is higher than the BECE2022 pass rate of 88% and is the biggest general SSS programme pass rate ever,” he said.
He noted that the ministry’s goal has always been to get all children successfully completing basic education and moving on to senior secondary school, saying they are happy to note that they are moving closer to achieving that goal.
“The top two candidates were girls, and the top 6 candidates with aggregate scores 6 or 7 were an equal number of boys and girls i.e. 3 girls and 3 boys,” he said.
The Minister explained that 132,684 (one hundred and thirty-two thousand, six hundred and eighty-four) candidates from 1,730 (one thousand, seven hundred and thirty) schools entered the 2023 BECE where 5,619 (five thousand, six hundred and nineteen) candidates were absent for all subjects. He said the results of 1,889 (one thousand, eight hundred and eighty-nine) candidates were from 8 late entry schools and are being with-held by WAEC.
“This leaves the results of 130,795 candidates (inclusive of those absent for all subjects) that were released to the MBSSE on 25 October 2023,” he said.
The Basic Education Certificate Examination comes at the end of formal basic education in Sierra Leone. It is administered by the West African Examinations Council.
In an interview with Politico, the father of the best BECE candidate, Dr. Edries Tejan who is the President of the Sierra Leone Medical and Dental Association (SLMDA) said he was very happy when the results were announced indicating that her daughter came first. He described Amida as a very obedient girl whose prowess started during her tender age when her grandmother was there to create that sense of belonging in society.
He said, notwithstanding she is just 12 years old, there has never been a day she would be told to study as she knows what to do when it is time to study. He noted that Amida’s achievement is a combination of both the school and parent affairs, saying the school was always there for her and the parents always ensure that they make the atmosphere very conducive for her by trying to inculcate her into extra lessons for Maths, English and Integrated Science.
Dr. Tejan advised other parents to show commitment to their children by always encouraging them to study on a daily basis. He said, that as soon as parents try to imbibe that sense of responsibility in their children, they will succeed when they write public exams.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (01/11/23)
