By Ragan M. Conteh
The opposition Chief Whip, Hon Abdul Karim Kamara, has updated Sierra Leoneans about the number of students being deprived from not taking the WASSCE.
The Ministry of Basic and Secondary School Education vehemently debunked the information as a “fictitious story” adding the proposed number of students is inaccurate.
Based on their statistics about 30, 000 students were disqualified.
The opposition chief took the statistics of students as pinch of salt as called on government to allow peace to reign.
He started to interrogate the ministry several questions as whether the students whom have been deprived are not Sierra Leoneans and if do they not deserve to take the said government exams.
“The current Ministry of Basic and Secondary School Education is not fit-for purpose, he needs to go home.” Opposition Chief Whip made these statements in relation to the inconsistencies of the ministry in informing the public about the stance of the Free Quality Education in the country now.
According to him, since 2018 when the Free Quality Education initiative was introduced the President in one of his nation’s address, noted that there was unimaginable increase on the number of students ranging from pre-primary, primary and secondary education.
He said there has been a sharp decrease in the number of students, in this academic year.
The ministry, he said, did not present accurate number of the affected students running up to approximately 150,000.
He made a comparative analysis that the number of students that sat to the exams last year was 243, 202 whilst this year only 146, 179 candidates that is based on the statistics released by the ministry.
There is a massive decrease of about 100,000 students between the two academic years.
The lawmaker said it seemed the ministry was publishing a bloated figure as this issue had spelt out the inaccuracy of the ministry on the number of students it said had been taking the exams.
He maintained that the number of students that are unqualified to sit the exams is more than those that are qualified in Port Loko district, Kambia and Karene districts.
He went on to say that the decision taking by the ministry is erroneous as the students and the parents, he said, don’t deserve to go through a painful experience.
He said he ministry would have put mechanisms in place should the principals and the schools make mistakes.
He sounded confident to make it known to the public that the number of students who sat to the exams in 2017 were more than those that are qualified to sit this year.
The minister had asked:
” Is it that the F.Q.E is not progressing? Does it mean the initiative has fewer students prior to now? Who has embezzled the resources allocated to the ministry?”
Opposition Chief Whip inevitably challenge the Ministry of Basic and Secondary School Education to come out and educate the public which district the affected students emanated from as it is almost
He challenged the ministry that 50% of students from west and north-west regions are most affected.
Opposition chief whip noted that he was expecting the ministry to come out with remedies that would have allowed the affected students to sit the exams this year.
He said it is rather unfortunate to admit that students would not be taking the exams as planned.
He had asked for the affected students to be re-admitted into the system.