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Girls have once again dominated SierraLeone’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), outperforming boys for the fifth consecutive year, according to results released by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and announced by the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE).
In a televised briefing on October 29, Minister Conrad Sackey revealed that the 2025 BECE results showed a slight improvement over last year, with a national pass rate of 94%, up from 93% in 2024. Female candidates not only outnumbered males but also claimed the majority of top spots.
“Of the 122,037 candidates, who sat the exam, 63,971 were female and 59,066 were male. Ten of the top sixteen performers were girls, including the top two scorers,” Minister Sackey said.
Leading the rankings was Mariama Yele-Bangura of Providence International Secondary School in Freetown, who achieved an aggregate score of 7. She was followed by Aminata B. Sesay of St. Joseph’s Secondary School in Makeni, along with seven other students from Providence International, all scoring an aggregate of 8.
Out of 129,260 registered candidates, 5,550 (4.3%) were absent for all subjects, and 1,673 had their entire results withheld. This left 122,037 students with released grades, slightly more than the 121,125 recorded in 2024, but fewer than the 127,065 in 2023.
The individual paper pass rate stood at 90.1%, the third highest since Sierra Leone began administering the BECE. A total of 114,709 candidates secured at least five passes, including Language Arts or Mathematics, marking a 2% increase from last year.
The Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to universal basic education and smooth transitions to senior secondary school, noting that the consistent rise in performance reflects steady progress in the sector.
