Government, ACC Sound Alarm on Exam Malpractice

Education Minister Conrad Sackey has clarified that of the 1,927 NPSE results withheld this year, only 326 candidates — about 0.2 percent of the more than 161,000 who sat the exam — are actually linked to malpractice.

The rest were withheld over missing Continuous Assessment Cards.

Sackey confirmed 58 school principals were suspended without pay last year over exam offences, while noting more than 5,000 candidates scored 300 or above.

Anti-Corruption Commission boss Ben Kaifala went further, declaring “we are in big trouble” if malpractice isn’t tackled urgently.

He described an organised network involving parents, teachers and administrators, revealing that 107 mobile phones were seized from candidates during a Kenema monitoring exercise, with some caught writing answers on blackboards.

The ACC says it’s approaching the issue as a law-enforcement matter, not a negotiation.