Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Dr Moinina David Sengeh, says the decision taken by universities to conduct entrance examinations for students after getting their requirements is a reflection of the successes of the Free Quality School Education (FQSE).
“No matter where one sits on the discourse of education transformation in Sierra Leone, it is undeniable that adding 38% more students to the school system will yield many more students who transition out of schools. It is thus no surprise that today; we have about 100,000 students who are eligible for entrance into higher and tertiary institutions (over 206,000 candidates attempted the national transition exams). If you invest $1 billion USD, hire and train more teachers, provide more books and teaching materials, children are bound to do well in their hundreds of thousands,” the Minister said.
According to the Minister, the expansion seen in Basic and Secondary Education had happened much quicker than in higher and tertiary education, noting that the lag was expected, adding that the number of students in the higher and tertiary institutions in 2019 was around 54,000 and that meant more than 2 times the number of candidates were eligible to enter university this year alone.
He said the government was anticipating this, noting that they had opened new universities and expanded Government Technical Institutes to 10 districts with additional community colleges, adding that several other tertiary institutions had also been opened by private citizens.
He said over 60% of students in public institutions were supported by government grants, stating that the investment in education was unprecedented in the country. He noted that the government had further clamped down on education fraud and examination malpractices, even if not totally eliminated, and called on the public to help eliminate that.
“How does one deal with these large numbers of eligible candidates who can enroll in higher and tertiary institutions? The answer is simple- entrance examinations! Entrance Examinations are nothing new in the higher and tertiary sectors across the world where the number of available seats is far below those eligible. Many countries do have entrance exams for those who pass their secondary school transition exams,” he said.
The Minister said entrance exams did not mean the transition exam was worthless, but an extra layer of competitive selection.
“Some argue that it also allows for students to potentially change tracks. If an ‘arts’ student wants to study biology in college, she can now take those entrance exams as long as they have the minimum requirements from the transition exam. It also is fairer- how might you otherwise choose only 250 students for a course where 25,000 have requirements? I think personally that in addition to these entrance exams, students should demonstrate a community service portfolio,” he said.
He called on Sierra Leoneans to understand the value of the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE), noting that there were many owners of those certificates who did not want to or could not go to higher and tertiary institutions, adding that they could use those certificates to transition into work and other areas of entrepreneurship.
“One thing is clear; we are fast on the way of eliminating illiteracy in our country within one generation. The question that arises is, are we leaving Civics behind? What role are you playing in improving the access to quality education,” he asked.
