The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has withheld the results of 368 candidates who sat for the May and June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) due to unpaid examination fees by their respective schools. The affected schools, all private institutions, owe a total of Le114,093. According to the Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Conrad Sackey, the withheld results were excluded from the batch released to the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) on Friday, October 23.
The five private schools responsible for the unpaid fees are Great High School of Science and Business, Royal International School, Faith Walk Academy Senior Secondary School, Rev. Christian International High School, and Globe International. The breakdown of the outstanding fees across these institutions is as follows: Great High School of Science and Business owes Le43,194 for 69 candidates, Royal International School owes Le23,788 for 38 candidates, Faith Walk Academy Senior Secondary School owes Le20,032 for 32 candidates, Rev. Christian International High School owes Le13,771 for 22 candidates, and Globe International owes Le13,308 for 22 candidates.
Officials have emphasized that the students are not responsible for the situation and should not suffer academic setbacks due to administrative failures or unpaid examination fees by school management. The Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Conrad Sackey, has urged the proprietors of the affected schools to settle their outstanding arrears urgently to facilitate the release of the withheld results.
The issue highlights the need for better regulation of private schools in Sierra Leone. A comment by Alpha Umar Kargbo on the matter noted that the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) should be serious about regulating private schools, which are scattered across the country, often charging exorbitant school fees and lacking trained and qualified teachers.
Authorities have stressed the importance of ensuring that candidates receive their examination results without being disadvantaged by financial obligations for which they are not responsible. The WAEC and MBSSE are working to resolve the issue, ensuring that the affected students are not unduly penalized.
The incident has raised concerns about the financial management and accountability of private schools in Sierra Leone. It also underscores the need for schools to prioritize their financial obligations to examination bodies like WAEC to avoid such situations in the future.
The proprietors of the affected schools have been urged to take immediate action to settle their outstanding debts. Once the fees are paid, the withheld results will be released to the students. The incident serves as a reminder of the importance of financial responsibility among educational institutions.
Key points
- The WAEC has withheld results of 368 WASSCE candidates from 5 private schools due to unpaid examination fees totaling Le114,093.
- The affected schools are Great High School of Science and Business, Royal International School, Faith Walk Academy Senior Secondary School, Rev. Christian International High School, and Globe International.
- Officials emphasize that students are not responsible for the unpaid fees and should not suffer academic setbacks due to school management's failures.
