FREETOWN, 28th October 2026 – The Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE), Conrad Sackey, has explained the process for candidates who are dissatisfied with their grades following the release of the 2026 WASSCE results.
In a post on his official Facebook page on Monday, Minister Sackey wrote:
“Dissatisfied with Your Grades? Here’s How to Seek Redress. A candidate who is dissatisfied with their grades may apply, through their school, to have their script remarked. The application must be made within 60 days of the release of results, and a fee applies. While a candidate whose result has been withheld must wait for the Sierra Leone Examinations Council (SLEC) to decide on the case after investigation.”
The clarification comes just days after WAEC released the 2026 WASSCE results for School Candidates on Tuesday 21st October, with thousands of candidates now checking their grades and deciding next steps for university admission.
What You Need to Know If You Want Your Script Remarked
According to the Sierra Leone Examinations Council (SLEC), which is the national body that handles appeals and conduct of public exams on behalf of WAEC in Sierra Leone, the process is straightforward but has strict rules:
1. You cannot apply directly as an individual: The application must go _through your school_. Your principal must endorse and forward your request to SLEC.
2. 60-day deadline: The appeal must be made within 60 days from the day results were released. For the 2026 WASSCE, that means the deadline will be around 21st December 2026. Any application after that will not be entertained.
3. Fee per subject: A remarking fee applies for each subject you want remarked. The fee is non-refundable and currently set by SLEC. In previous years it was NLe 500 per subject, but candidates are advised to confirm the current rate at their schools or at SLEC’s office at Tower Hill.
4. It is a remark, not a rewrite: SLEC will pull your original answer booklet and have a senior examiner re-mark it independently to check for marking errors or unmarked portions. Your grade can go up, stay the same, or in rare cases, go down.
The Ministry says this process is for genuine cases where a candidate strongly believes their grade does not reflect their performance, and not for fishing.
If Your Result Is Withheld – You Must Wait
Minister Sackey also made a distinction for candidates whose results were flagged as “withheld.”
These are not failed results. Withheld results mean the candidate’s script is under investigation for suspected examination malpractice, collusion, or other irregularities reported by supervisors or markers.
In such cases, a candidate cannot apply for remarking. You must wait for SLEC’s Investigations Committee to sit, review the evidence, and decide whether to:
– Release the result,
– Cancel the result for that subject, or
– Cancel the entire results and ban the candidate for a number of years.
In the 2025 WASSCE, SLEC released over 80% of initially withheld results after investigations found them innocent, while others were cancelled.
Candidates whose results are withheld are advised to stay in touch with their school principals and avoid paying money to anyone claiming they can “release” results.
For further enquiries, candidates can visit the MBSSE at New England Ville, SLEC at Tower Hill, or WAEC at AJ Momoh Street, Freetown.
