The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has withheld the results of a 45-year-old woman, Saminatu Tarawally, who made headlines earlier this year after she was discovered sitting the government-sponsored West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in Freetown.
According to the official result sheet, Saminatu, bearing candidate number 6041645729, sat for nine subjects at the Bishop Jane Middleton Senior Secondary School in Goderich. However, all nine papers — including English Language, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Economics, Biology, Chemistry, Health Science, Science, and Physics — have been withheld without any stated reason.
The decision has sparked concern within her family, who are calling for presidential intervention.
Her younger brother, Abubakarr Tarawally, expressed disappointment over the development, urging President Julius Maada Bio to order an independent investigation into what he described as an “unfair treatment” by WAEC.
“This action undermines the President’s vision to promote women and girls in education,” Abubakarr lamented, emphasizing that his sister’s commitment to education should be celebrated, not punished.
Saminatu’s participation in the exam drew public attention earlier this year when she was identified by the Deputy Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Mamusu Patricia Massaquoi, during an unannounced visit to the Goderich examination centre.
While WAEC has yet to comment on the reason for withholding her results, the incident has reignited debate about equal access and fair treatment in Sierra Leone’s education system.
This is not not promotion of Education, but degrading. So have you demolished adult education, which we who were not opportuned to receive in our early age due to financial constraints celebrate at the time when we can earn money for ourselves through part time jobs. That is injustice and discrimination in the educational system.