Zacharia Jalloh, Ministry of Information and Civic Education
The Minister of Information and Civic Education, ChernorBah, provided a summary of the 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). A total of 130,135candidates were entered from 1,987 schools. Out of this number, 124,565 candidates sat for at least one subject, with 5,570 absentees recorded across all subjects. The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) released results for 129,260 candidates, withholding results for 1,673.
A detailed analysis was completed for 122,037 candidates, 62,971 females and 59,066 males, marking the fifth consecutive year in which female candidates outnumbered their male counterparts. The overall pass rate including English and Mathematics stands at an impressive 94%, representing 114,709 candidates. The top achiever, Mariama Yellie Bangura of Providence International School, scored an aggregate 7, followed by Aminata B. Sesay from St. Joseph Secondary School in Makeni with an aggregate 8.
Minister Bah also announced a comprehensive curriculum reform for secondary schools, replacing the traditional three streams, Arts, Science, and Commercial, with five modern streams: Science and Technology; Language and Literature; Social and Cultural Studies; Economics, Business, and Entrepreneurship; and Mathematics and Numeracy. The curriculum includes 70 subjects aligned with 21st-century skills. A phased transition begins in 2026, during which students will be examined on 20 subjects from the new curriculum and 17 from the old. Full adoption is set for 2028.
