By Kadijatu Bangura, Reporter D.S
FREETOWN — The withholding of the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) result of 78-year-old Pa Lamin Turay by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has sparked public concern and raised questions over his candidate status.
Pa Turay, who returned to formal education in 2019 at the age of 71, completed Junior Secondary School and proceeded to Senior Secondary School before sitting the May-June 2026 WASSCE as a regular school candidate.
His result is among 47,454 results withheld by WAEC over suspected examination malpractice, representing 23.6 percent of the 200,756 results submitted to Government.
The case has attracted widespread public attention, particularly over the distinction between government-sponsored regular candidates and private candidates.
Government-sponsored WASSCE is generally intended for pupils enrolled in recognised secondary schools, while private WASSCE is for independent candidates, often resitting to improve on previous grades.
This has fuelled speculation over whether Pa Turay’s unusual educational journey and age may have raised queries during the verification process as a regular candidate.
However, there is no official indication from WAEC that his age or classification is responsible for the withholding of his result, and the Council has not publicly disclosed the specific allegation against him.
Unverified grades circulating on social media claim Pa Turay obtained C6 in Christian Religious Studies, C6 in Mathematics, B3 in Government, C5 in History, D7 in Literature in English, E8 in Economics, C6 in Agricultural Science and F9 in both English Language and Health Science.
Sierraloaded reports it has not been able to verify the grades, while WAEC’s online results portal currently shows ‘Result Withheld’ against all his subjects.
On 27 October, Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Conrad Sackey, confirmed that 47,454 candidates — comprising 26,735 females and 20,719 males — had their results withheld over suspected examination irregularities.
The Minister stressed that withholding does not automatically mean guilt, noting that WAEC will investigate each case individually before deciding whether to release or cancel the results.
Meanwhile, the 2026 WASSCE has exposed a massive failure in English Language, with reports indicating that 63.33 percent of candidates failed the subject while only 9.77 percent obtained a credit pass — raising fresh concerns over English proficiency and preparedness for higher education.
In response, the University of Makeni (UNIMAK) has introduced a special provisional admission arrangement for candidates who failed English Language.
Under the arrangement, candidates with credit passes in at least four other subjects can gain provisional admission into degree programmes, except Law and Nursing, subject to meeting university requirements. Beneficiaries must attend compulsory remedial English classes and obtain a pass by 31st October 2028 to confirm their admission.
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