The Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) has issued a stern warning to school leaders across Sierra Leone, cautioning that headteachers who fail to upload the Continuous Assessment Scores (CASS) for their pupils will be dismissed.

Minister Conrad Sackey made the declaration on Saturday after reporting to the office to personally monitor the nationwide CASS upload, stressing that the Ministry will no longer tolerate persistent delays, especially from districts that have historically missed deadlines.

According to the minister, five districts have already achieved 100 percent compliance, completing all CASS uploads. However, he revealed that several others still have more than 80 percent of schools yet to begin the process, while the Western Urban and Western Rural districts home to the highest concentration of schools had not uploaded any data as of Saturday morning.

“For the past two to three years, Western Urban and Western Rural have remained our biggest challenge,” Sackey said. “This year, there will be no excuses.”

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To address the delays, Minister Sackey convened an emergency meeting with all School Quality Assurance Officers from Western Urban, instructing them to bring school principals along. He said the Ministry has gone “the extra mile” by providing on-site internet cafés and IT support for schools citing connectivity problems.

“There should be no problem or excuse,” he stressed. “Some headteachers still failed to show up, even though we provided the internet facilities right here.”

Recalling that 45 headteachers were suspended last year for failing to upload CASS 1, Sackey warned that this year’s sanctions would be even stricter.

“This time, you must go,” he declared. “If you cannot upload your pupils’ CASS, then you are not the kind of school leader we need.”

The minister also extended the warning to private schools, emphasizing that MBSSE retains full authority to revoke licences from non-compliant institutions.

“As a Ministry, we are working with partners to support every school,” he said. “I don’t enjoy enforcing punitive measures, but I will not hesitate if schools fail to comply.”

Parents were also urged to monitor their children’s schools, especially as government will not sponsor private candidates for the WASSCE this year.

“Parents and Boards of Governors must hold your principals to account,” Sackey stated. “You have a responsibility to your children.”

For assistance and inquiries, the Ministry encouraged the public to use its toll-free hotline 8060 which has been upgraded to improve service. MBSSE information officers will also continue public engagement through radio and television to push for full compliance.

“We do not want any child, school, or community to be left behind,” Sackey concluded.