Sierra Leone’s Parliamentary Oversight Committee on Basic and Senior Secondary Education is racing to find a solution for students who missed the deadline to register for the upcoming West African Examinations Council (WAEC) exams.

The committee, formed by members of various political parties and paramount chiefs, has been grappling with the issue since February after the WAEC portal closed for entries. Despite repeated attempts to convince WAEC to reopen the portal, citing late entries in past years, the Council remained unbudging.

With traditional solutions exhausted, the committee unveiled a Plan-B to accommodate genuine candidates left out of the May/June WASSCE Examination. Negotiations to include affected students in Ghana’s August WASSCE Series proved futile, leaving the November/December series as the only viable option.

Acknowledging the concerns of parents and guardians, the committee assured its commitment to expedite the implementation of Plan-B. This plan aims to facilitate affected students’ participation in the November/December WASSCE Series at no cost to parents or guardians, with the government covering examination fees.

While WAEC data indicates 146,179 candidates from 816 schools registered for the May/June 2024 WASSCE, the exact number of affected candidates remains uncertain due to irregularities in submitted lists. These irregularities include fake BECE results, double WAEC codes, discrepancies in student numbers, inclusion of repeaters, and ghost schools with unverified candidates.

The MBSSE continues to verify school lists to determine the legitimate number of affected candidates. The committee urged patience from the public as the verification process progresses, cautioning against relying on speculative numbers circulating in the media.

Severe penalties await defaulting school heads, MBSSE officials, and WAEC staff implicated in depriving legitimate candidates of examination opportunities. Such actions not only harm students and their families but also tarnish the government’s image and undermine the Free Quality Education Programme.

The press release concluded with a call for unity and support from all Sierra Leoneans as efforts continue to ensure equitable access to education and uphold the integrity of examination processes.