By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
The National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) has established a National Identification Number (NIN) registration centre at Kingtom Police Mess for pupils and students residing in the Western Area. The Ministry of Basic Education recently made NIN a requirement for pupils wanting to take public exams.
NCRA workers now operate out of the Police officers’ Mess at Kingtom and the organization says if there was need for referral from the Kingtom centre, the applicant will be advised appropriately. An NCRA statement adds that NIN registration for members of the public was still being administered at their Headquarters in Freetown and their offices across the country.
The Strategic Communications Analyst at the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE), Augustine Sankoh told Politico in an interview that taking public exams in Sierra Leone has absolutely been free so far. He pointed out that there are students who had attempted the WASSCE when they were in Senior Secondary School two (SSS2), which he said the government is trying hard to prevent.
Sankoh said if a student had registered with the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) to take the WASSCE it would be easy to spot them and identify that they had taken the examination once. He said the NIN number allocated to students will also curtail the habit of individuals taking the exams for another person. “So this will reduce the amount of money being paid by the government for students who have taken the WASSCE multiple times,” he said.
According to the Director of Operations and Services at the NCRA, Abubakarr Javombo students taking the WASSCE should first of all visit any of their district offices. He said they would then do what he called an advanced search for the student in the civil register to ascertain whether or not they had registered before.
“Since mass civil registration was done in 2017 and then followed by last year’s confirmation/registration exercise, most students might have gone through the process. Those that have registered will be given the citizenship certificate which bears the NIN,” he said.
Javombo pointed out that an advanced search would be done for students using the registration slip that bears their name and other details. He added that for those with ID cards, they should also present their phone numbers and ID number.
The Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education aims at providing opportunities for children and adults to acquire knowledge and skills, as well as, nurture good values and attitudes for economic growth.
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