In light of the current debate in Ireland regarding opening/closing of schools and the form of examinations in the coming year, the following two comments may give an insight as to how Sierra Leone is coping with these issues. The first is a comment by Rita Foday and the second is from Eddie Finnegan.
Completion of exams will lead to complete re-opening of schools on October 5th in SL:
Following the lifting of bans on inter-district travels, the ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary School announced the resumption of schools for the examination classes with the hope of preparing for their respective exams. In this regard schools were reopened for pupils in the sixth class (final year class in the primary school) as well as those in the final classes in both the Junior Secondary School and Senior Secondary School as they prepare for their NPSE, BECE and WASSCE respectively. On August 3, the sixth class Primary School pupils across the country had their exams. Successful candidates will be promoted to the Junior Secondary School. The examination lasts for a day with the pupils answering questions in five course areas: English, Mathematics, Quantitative Aptitude, Verba Aptitude and General Paper.
Similarly, from August 11 to September 8, those in the final class in the Senior Secondary School wrote their final examination. Worthy to note at this juncture is the fact that none of the pupils in this category was found to be living with the virus; hence, no one took the exam in an isolation centre.
Lastly, over the next 2 weeks, those in the final class in the Junior Secondary School will commence their examinations.
Examination Results:
Minister for Education Moinina David Sengeh has announced the results of the NPSE exam taken on August 3. While there is an emphasis on the top scoring candidates (top 5 from Freetown / Western Area primary schools), schools in the Eastern Province came close to top Freetown schools. It is no surprise that the East’s two top-scoring pupils are from Cluny-Free-the-Children Primary in Koidu. No surprise either that the East’s top three schools are all Religious or Mission foundations: 1. Cluny-FTC Koidu; 2. Badru Deen Islamic Segbwema; 3. Methodist Primary Dambu, Kailahun. Cluny-FTC had the largest entry of the three, 57 pupils. .