Sierra Leone’s Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE), Conrad Sackey, has today announced the release of the 2023 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results.

According to the Minister of Education, David Sackey, the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results for 2023 in Sierra Leone have surpassed all expectations, marking a historic achievement.

Total Candidates: In 2023, a total of 132,684 candidates from 1,730 schools registered for the BECE. Out of these, 5,619 candidates were absent for all subjects, leaving 127,065 candidates who took at least one subject.

Late Entry Schools: Results of 1,889 candidates from 8 late-entry schools have been withheld by WAEC, leaving the results of 130,795 candidates (inclusive of those absent for all subjects) released to the MBSSE on October 25, 2023.

Pass Rates: The pass rate for individual papers has witnessed an extraordinary increase, climbing from 76.8% in 2021 to 84.4% in 2022, and now reaching a remarkable 92.7% in 2023, the highest ever.

Female Candidates: For the third consecutive year, there were more female candidates than males sitting for the BECE. The 2023 results showed a 5.6% increase in the number of female candidates.

Minimum Pass Requirements: The number of candidates obtaining a minimum of 5 passes, inclusive of Language Arts or Mathematics, has increased by 85.5% from 2018 to 2023. In 2023, a record-breaking 119,801 candidates achieved this milestone, resulting in a BECE pass rate for the general SSS program of 96%.

Top Performers: The top candidate, Amida Sarlahmata Tejan from Modern High School, passed all 8 subjects with an aggregate score of 6 and an average grade of 1.13. The top two candidates were girls, and the top 6 candidates with aggregate scores of 6 or 7 were evenly split between boys and girls.

Top School: Cluny Free the Children JSS in Koidu saw 100% of its candidates obtaining a minimum of 5 passes inclusive of Language Arts or Mathematics, with an average grade of 1.66.

District Performances: While some variation in performance across subjects and districts persists, no subject had pass rates below 70%. However, all districts performed better than in 2022, with pass rates exceeding 90.00%.

International Performance: Candidates from Guinea, while not performing as well as candidates from Sierra Leone, demonstrated improvement compared to 2022, achieving a combined SSS pass rate of 77.61%.

These results demonstrate an exceptional improvement in BECE performance, with the number of successful candidates increasing and pass rates reaching an all-time high. The Ministry of Education is celebrating the progress made toward ensuring that all children successfully complete basic education and progress to senior secondary school. This year’s achievements represent a significant step toward achieving this goal.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK 2023 BECE RESULT