By Saidu Kargbo
Freetown, October 27, 2025 – The release of the 2024/25 May–June WASSCE results has been overshadowed by a troubling statistic: 13,237 results remain withheld and unpublished, leaving thousands of students in limbo. The reasons? Alleged examination malpractice and the persistent refusal of certain school authorities to pay examination fees for their candidates.
Of the withheld results, 3,536 are from private schools, while the remainder come from government and government-assisted institutions. Among the affected schools are Every Nation Academy (Kenema), Services Secondary School (Juba), Sierra Leone Muslim Union (Porteé), King Fahad Islamic Secondary School (Wellington), and Dr. David Arnold High School (Freetown). Even the result of 45-year-old candidate Saminatu Tarawally, who sat the exam at Bishop Jane Middleton Senior Secondary School in Goderich, was seized.
This situation raises serious concerns about oversight and accountability within the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), and school administrations. “We have decided, as a ministry, to call for a ‘National Stakeholders’ Conversation,’” said Augustine Bammie Anthony, Communications Officer at the Ministry, during a press briefing on October 21, 2025.
While the public continues to demand a system free from corruption and malpractice, many are also questioning the integrity of the institutions tasked with upholding trust in the education sector. It’s evident that some students may have genuinely passed their exams, yet now face the devastating possibility of being denied their right to education due to administrative failures.
With mounting frustration and university admissions hanging in the balance, WAEC has pledged a transparent review process. However, no clear timeline has been provided for when the affected results will be released, leaving candidates anxious and uncertain.
In an interview with Truth Newspaper, Salieu Kamara, Public Relations Officer at WAEC, acknowledged public concern. “By November, the committee will sit and take decisions, and we will inform them about the outcome afterwards,” he said. “We are asking them to continue to exercise patience.”
But patience is wearing thin. Prolonged delays not only threaten academic calendars, they risk deepening educational inequality. Students from low-income backgrounds are less equipped to endure extended waiting periods or pursue alternative pathways. It’s time for the government to step in, set a public timeline, and ensure students are not unfairly penalized for systemic lapses.
As the weeks pass, the future of over 13,000 students, many of whom hoped to begin their higher education journeys this academic year, remains painfully uncertain. Transparency and urgency are no longer optional. These young people deserve answers, and they deserve them now.
