By Kelfala Kargbo
Freetown, 31st August, 2026 – Over the last five years, the self-styled sign-out activity observed by final-year students across all levels in the education sector has gained momentum, and it is becoming a routine every academic year.
Sierra Leonean students did not invent it; they are rather experimenting with it. After sitting final exams, final-year students in Ghana and Nigeria would embroil in white-printed T-shirts and would invite people who would append their autographs on them and would also hand them gifts.
The atmosphere is often chaotic and expectedly emotional. For them, rounding off years of struggles – meeting up with assignment deadlines, spending hours of study and sleepless nights in preparation for exams – warrants ‘wild’ celebrations, as it comes once in a lifetime.
Is it an official school or university ceremony? – The sign-out ceremony is not part of a university or a school curriculum; rather, it is a self-styled creation among students in the final classes.
At first sight, one may mistake it for an official college ceremony where students would print a big banner, on it containing photos attached with registration numbers of students in the class. These students usually would append their autograph underneath their image on the banner.
Whether the student is qualified to be in the final year or not, once the student pays, their name, photo, and registration number would form part of the banner.
In an interview with a Lecturer at Fourah Bay College (FBC), Sheku Putka Kamara affirmed that the activity is not recognized by the university. He, however, did not condemn the activity, saying it should be a “thanksgiving” rather than students creating the realization among people that they have graduated.
“It is not a problem for a student to sign out, but failing to submit a dissertation, that student will not graduate,” Kamara remarked.
What has been done to moderate or put a stop to it? – Despite college administration urged students to moderate the activity on campus, the momentum is pacing as huge crowds usually stir traffic and hours of blockage for pedestrians en route without struggling their way through.
Among the University of Sierra Leone constituent colleges, the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences (COMAHS), is the first to issue a directive placing a ban on all signing-out activities on its campus at Cannaught Hospital. The directive reads: “Please note that all signing-out activity is not allowed on campus.” The notice, however, was not clear on the reason for the ban.
Speaking with the Communication Officer, COMAHS, Bai Kandeh Turay, said the directive is an effort to prevent noise for other students who would be sitting exams the very day of final year students’ signing-out activity and also to allow free movement of people and motorists.
“Last year, we had a bad experience regarding sign-out activity. We noticed each time we publish a timetable for exams, the exams are conducted at the same time for all levels. The moment Final Year students’ exams are done, other students would still be taking exams, so the sign-out activity usually brings about loud music and huge crowds which disturb the smooth flow of exams for other students,” Turay explained, stressing the negative impact of sign-out activity observed on their campus.
Since they put out the notice, Turay said they have received numerous complaints about the directive aimed at disadvantaging the students, noting that it is because the university cannot control how the activity is done. He said they should place a ban.
Mixed reactions – Of course, both current and past students had a bite online. While the current students glamorize the activity in celebration of years of struggles, past students argued that the activity is often ostentatious, unnecessarily loud, and a misplaced priority.
A final-year student at the Faculty of Communication, Media and Information Studies (FCMIS), FBC, Abraham Ghottor, argued that it was because past students did not have the opportunity, stating it is the reason they frown at it. He furthered that the celebration meant more to him as he is the first in his family to attain such an achievement.
In one of her opinionated pieces, Executive Director of Lydia Network, Lydia Tucker, warned that students should show “simple joy” instead of a show of “wealth” and “status.”
The real issues, according to Tucker, include unnecessary pressure, mental health at risk, creating division and not making sense, further calling on students to celebrate with humility, focus on hard work, learning, and character.
In a Facebook post, an Alumnus of Fourah Bay College and student of Njala University, Mac’Ivan Kakpindi Vandy, from the outset, has been firmly criticizing the idea of signing out and urged institutions to put a ban. Vandy compared what used to obtain decades ago when students sat their exams and the current situation of signing out.
“No special hairstyles, no new jeans or sneakers, no white shirt with rubbish written on it using markers, just printed shirts showing they’re signing out. And guess what? No fanfare with bubu, brass band, invitation cards for people to flood the university premises. It was just simple, straightforward with less unnecessary pressure and noise,” he posted on Facebook.
Despite there having been calls for universities and schools to regulate signing-out activities, one thing remains clear: it is a new culture in the education sector that many students have embraced.
