By Hassan Osman Kargbo
The Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, David Moinina Sengeh Sackey, has declared that government will not spend public funds on ghost or ineligible students ahead of the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination WASSCE.
Minister Sackey made this statement on Tuesday 17 February 2026 during a press conference organised by the Ministry of Information and Civic Education at the Miatta Conference Hall in Freetown. The press briefing focused on government efforts to ensure transparency and accountability in the administration of public examinations.
According to the minister, government continues to spend huge amounts of money to subsidise public examinations across the country, including registration fees for WASSCE candidates. He explained that this heavy investment makes it necessary for the ministry to ensure that only qualified and eligible students benefit from the support.
“We cannot continue to pay for ghost students,” the minister said. “The government is spending a lot of money on public examinations, and it is our responsibility to make sure that only students who meet the requirements are allowed to sit these exams.”
Minister Sackey disclosed that the ministry has discovered widespread irregularities in the registration process, with some schools entering students who do not meet the eligibility criteria into the examination portal. He described the practice as unacceptable and warned that it undermines the integrity of the education system.
He noted that the ministry has taken steps to clean up the database ahead of the 2026 WASSCE. As part of this process, schools have been clearly warned not to upload the details of students who are not qualified to write the examination. He stressed that head teachers and school administrators will be held accountable for any false entries.
According to the minister, an initial verification exercise has already uncovered more than one thousand students who are not eligible to sit the 2026 WASSCE. These students, he said, have been flagged and removed from the system to prevent unnecessary expenditure of public funds.
Minister Sackey explained that the ongoing verification exercise is aimed at protecting genuine students while also ensuring fairness and efficiency in the examination process. He added that the ministry is working closely with examination bodies and other stakeholders to strengthen monitoring mechanisms and prevent similar issues in the future.
He also appealed to school authorities to cooperate fully with the ministry by adhering strictly to the established guidelines for examination registration. He said compliance will help restore public confidence in the education system and ensure that limited government resources are used wisely.
The minister concluded by reaffirming government’s commitment to improving the quality of education in Sierra Leone. He said measures such as weeding out ineligible candidates are necessary to promote discipline accountability and credibility within the education sector as the country prepares for the 2026 WASSCE.
