By: Bangura Abu

The fight against corruption cannot be won in government offices while dishonesty is being normalised in examination halls. If we want a different Sierra Leone tomorrow, we must begin by confronting the values we are cultivating in our children today.

Sierra Leone has another reason to reflect seriously on its future following the release of the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results. While the country grapples with concerns about educational standards and poor performance in key subjects, the reported withholding of 47,454 candidates’ results over suspected examination malpractice presents an equally troubling challenge. The figure was announced by the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education on 27 October 2026. It represents approximately 23.6 per cent of the 200,756 candidates whose results were submitted to the Ministry. The authorities have indicated that investigations are ongoing and that some results may subsequently be released while others may be cancelled. .

This is not merely an examination administration problem. It is a question of national character, institutional integrity, and the kind of society Sierra Leone is preparing to become.

The reported figures should concern every parent, teacher, school administrator, policymaker, community leader, and citizen who genuinely desires a better country. They compel us to ask an uncomfortable but necessary question: What happens to a nation when dishonesty becomes an acceptable means of getting ahead, even among its young people?

The examination hall as a mirror of society

Examinations are intended to assess knowledge, competence, preparation, and the ability to apply what has been learned. They should reward diligence and provide a credible basis for determining who is ready to progress to the next stage of education.

When examination malpractice becomes widespread, however, the purpose of assessment is undermined. The honest candidate who studies diligently may find themselves competing against someone who seeks an unfair advantage. The certificate, which should represent demonstrated competence, risks losing its credibility. Institutions that depend on those results may struggle to distinguish genuine achievement from artificial success.

The reported withholding of thousands of results over suspected irregularities raises serious questions about the pressures, incentives, and attitudes surrounding public examinations in Sierra Leone.

It is important to emphasise that a withheld result is not, by itself, proof of guilt. Every allegation must be investigated fairly, and candidates must be given the opportunity to challenge findings where the applicable procedures permit. Nevertheless, the scale of the reported cases demands serious national attention, regardless of the final outcome of individual investigations.

We must not allow the necessary presumption of innocence to become an excuse for ignoring a broader crisis of examination integrity.

From examination malpractice to national corruption

Sierra Leone has spent years confronting corruption and its devastating consequences for public trust, service delivery, economic development, and institutional effectiveness. The country has also endured a brutal civil war whose causes and consequences continue to inform discussions about governance, inequality, exclusion, and the need for lasting peace.

Corruption has many causes, and it would be simplistic to attribute the country’s development challenges or civil war to one factor alone. However, dishonesty, abuse of entrusted power, and the pursuit of personal advantage at the expense of the public good have repeatedly undermined societies and institutions.

Against this background, the reported scale of examination malpractice should provoke deeper reflection.

The pupils sitting WASSCE today are among the people who may become tomorrow’s lawyers, doctors, teachers, engineers, journalists, civil servants, business leaders, and politicians. Some will occupy positions of considerable influence. Others will manage public resources, enforce laws, make policy decisions, or serve vulnerable communities.

What values are we cultivating if some young people come to believe that rules can be disregarded whenever breaking them offers an advantage?

What happens when a person learns early that success is more important than honesty, that credentials matter more than competence, and that the person who finds a way around the rules is more intelligent than the person who follows them?

We cannot confidently predict the future conduct of every candidate implicated in an allegation. Young people can learn, change, and develop stronger values. But we should not underestimate the importance of the habits and moral lessons formed during their formative years.

A society that tolerates dishonesty in its classrooms may find it increasingly difficult to demand integrity in its boardrooms and government offices.

This is why examination malpractice must be treated not only as an educational concern but also as a matter of national development and civic responsibility.

The fight against corruption must begin at home

Parents and guardians have a fundamental responsibility in shaping the character of their children.

Too often, societies celebrate success without asking how it was achieved. Children may receive enormous pressure to obtain excellent grades, gain admission to prestigious institutions, or secure certificates that promise better opportunities. When these expectations are not accompanied by lessons about honesty, patience, discipline, and hard work, children may begin to believe that the result matters more than the process.

Parents must therefore teach their children that failure in an examination is not the end of life, but dishonesty in pursuit of success can compromise their character and future.

A child who fails honestly can study harder, seek assistance, identify weaknesses, and try again. A child who succeeds through cheating may obtain a temporary advantage without developing the knowledge and discipline necessary to sustain it.

Parents must resist the temptation to facilitate malpractice, encourage shortcuts, pressure teachers to compromise standards, or defend wrongdoing simply because the candidate involved is their son, daughter, relative, or family friend.

Love for a child does not mean protecting that child from accountability. Sometimes, the greatest expression of parental responsibility is to correct a child, insist on honesty, and help them understand that integrity is more valuable than an undeserved certificate.

The home is the first school of character. If integrity is not taught and practised there, other institutions will face a much harder task.

Schools must stop rewarding the wrong behaviour

Schools also have a critical responsibility.

They must create environments in which academic achievement is earned through learning, discipline, and consistent effort. Teachers and administrators should model integrity, enforce examination rules fairly, and ensure that pupils understand both the importance of academic honesty and the consequences of malpractice.

School authorities must also examine whether the pressure to produce impressive examination results is encouraging unhealthy practices. A school’s reputation should not be built on grades alone but on the competence, discipline, creativity, and character of the pupils it produces.

Where teachers or school officials facilitate, encourage, or knowingly ignore malpractice, appropriate investigations and disciplinary measures should follow. Equally, schools must provide the teaching resources, academic support, remedial lessons, and guidance that enable struggling pupils to improve legitimately.

We cannot demand integrity from pupils while tolerating dishonesty among the adults responsible for educating them.

Academic excellence and moral development must go hand in hand. A school that produces candidates with certificates but fails to cultivate honesty, responsibility, and respect for rules has only partially fulfilled its educational mission.

Government must lead a credible response

The Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education and the West African Examinations Council must respond firmly, transparently, and fairly.

First, the authorities should publish clear information about the nature and scale of the suspected irregularities, distinguishing between categories of offences and the number of candidates or cases involved. The reported figures should be explained in a manner that allows the public to understand the problem without confusing allegations with proven violations.

Second, investigations must be credible and impartial. Candidates found responsible for malpractice should face proportionate consequences under the applicable rules, while those wrongly implicated must have access to fair procedures for challenging decisions.

Third, examination security must be strengthened. This includes effective supervision, appropriate measures against unauthorised devices and materials, improved monitoring of examination centres, and accountability for anyone who compromises the integrity of the process.

The reported involvement of digital platforms in some suspected irregularities also demonstrates the need for greater digital literacy and responsible technology use. Technology should expand access to knowledge, not become an instrument for undermining academic standards.

Fourth, government must invest in the quality of teaching and learning. Strong examination security alone cannot resolve poor educational outcomes. Pupils need competent teachers, appropriate learning materials, adequate preparation, and support in foundational skills, particularly reading, comprehension, writing, and mathematics.

Finally, the fight against examination malpractice must form part of a broader national effort to promote integrity. Schools should incorporate practical lessons in ethics, civic responsibility, accountability, and the consequences of corruption into pupils’ educational experiences.

Government must demonstrate through its own conduct that honesty is not merely a slogan directed at young people but a standard expected of everyone, including those in positions of authority.

We must confront both poor performance and dishonesty

The concerns surrounding examination malpractice have emerged alongside reports of disappointing performance in English Language and wider questions about educational quality.

These are related but distinct challenges. We must not allow the attention given to malpractice to obscure the need to improve teaching and learning. Nor should concern about poor academic performance distract us from the importance of examination integrity.

A child who cannot adequately read, write, comprehend, or communicate may struggle to progress academically and professionally. A child who is encouraged to cheat may acquire the wrong habits for navigating those challenges.

Sierra Leone must therefore pursue two objectives simultaneously: improving the quality of education and ensuring that academic success is achieved honestly.

This requires better teacher support, effective curriculum implementation, stronger school leadership, parental involvement, reliable assessment systems, and targeted interventions for pupils who are falling behind.

It also requires us to recognise that children do not exist in isolation. They are influenced by the behaviour of adults, the expectations of their communities, the pressures of their environment, and the examples set by people they admire.

If young people repeatedly observe that dishonesty is rewarded while integrity is ignored, our public condemnation of examination malpractice will ring hollow.

The future is still within our reach

The scale of the reported WASSCE irregularities is alarming, but it must not lead us to write off an entire generation.

Young people are capable of learning from mistakes, developing stronger values, and making meaningful contributions to society. The responsibility of parents, educators, government, and communities is to create the conditions in which that transformation can take place.

We must distinguish between holding individuals accountable for proven misconduct and permanently labelling young people on the basis of allegations. Justice and rehabilitation are not mutually exclusive. Firm consequences can coexist with guidance, education, and opportunities for personal reform.

Our objective should not simply be to catch those who cheat. It should be to build an educational culture in which fewer pupils are willing to cheat, fewer adults are prepared to facilitate it, and more young people understand the dignity of earning success honestly.

That is how we protect the credibility of our certificates, prepare competent professionals, strengthen public institutions, and cultivate citizens who respect the rules governing their society.

Conclusion: The battle for integrity starts now

The reported withholding of 47,454 WASSCE results over suspected examination malpractice should serve as a national wake-up call. It is a reminder that the fight against corruption cannot be confined to public offices, commissions of inquiry, courtrooms, or government reform programmes.

It must also take place in our homes, classrooms, examination centres, religious institutions, and communities.

We cannot build a country founded on integrity if we teach our children that dishonesty is acceptable whenever the stakes are high. We cannot demand accountability from future leaders while failing to cultivate accountability among the young people preparing to become those leaders. And we cannot hope to strengthen our institutions if we continually undermine the credibility of the qualifications upon which those institutions depend.

Let parents teach character. Let teachers model honesty. Let schools reward genuine achievement. Let government enforce the rules fairly. Let communities celebrate hard work rather than shortcuts.

The candidates sitting examinations today are not merely pursuing certificates; they are preparing to participate in shaping the Sierra Leone of tomorrow. We owe them an educational system that rewards merit, a society that values integrity, and leadership that demonstrates the principles it expects them to uphold.

If we want to defeat corruption tomorrow, we must stop nurturing the conditions that enable it today. The fight begins with us, and it begins now.