The West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results are out again this year. As always, some students are jubilating, while many more are in tears. The reasons for their cries are not as you might imagine. This single certificate decides who moves on to university and who must wait another year, or more, for that chance.
In secondary schools, students graduate from three main streams: Arts, Science, and Commercial. To qualify for university, one must have at least five credits, including English Language and any other four subjects. These other subjects may vary depending on the student’s chosen field, but one rule remains firm across all disciplines: no credit in English, no university entry.
Unsurprisingly, most of the heartbreak comes from students who fail to get that one English credit. Many of us, myself included, have had to sit the exam more than once just to secure it. I remember several classmates who dropped out completely after repeated failures. Some had strong results in other subjects, mathematics, economics, or history, but still couldn’t make it to university because they lacked a credit in English.
A few chose to enroll in technical or vocational schools, not necessarily out of passion, but because they had no other choice. Others kept rewriting the exams until they gave up, either due to financial constraints or family discouragement. In some cases, especially for girls, parents saw it as a waste of money to keep paying for the same exam, one already marred by corruption and malpractice.
Critics have long argued that WASSCE has lost much of its credibility. Leaked papers, bribed officials, and “special rooms” for cheating are now open secrets. Yet, the punishment almost always falls on students—results seized, grades cancelled, or even police cases opened against them. In the end, English Language becomes not a measure of brilliance, but a wall that blocks opportunity.
My concern is not so much the credibility of the exams, but rather the emphasis placed on English as the deciding factor for university entry. To me, this is a clear continuation of colonial control, only dressed in academic robes. It is a denial of our right to education, rooted in a system built to value foreign standards above local realities.
A 2021 National Achievement Survey and a 2022 Foundational Learning Study by the Ministry of Education (as cited by UNICEF, February 2024) found that children from tribal and rural backgrounds in India perform worse in school compared to their urban peers. One major reason was language. Many of these pupils are taught and tested in English—a language neither they nor their parents fully understand. The result is predictable: poor comprehension, low performance, and high dropout rates.
This is a story many of us know too well. We spent years struggling with English grammar instead of learning actual content. While children in England, China, or Japan were mastering science and technology in their native languages, we were busy trying to memorize tenses and idioms. The system taught us to pass exams, not to understand concepts. It trained us to sound educated, not to solve problems. We became imitators of Western models rather than innovators of our own.
The importance of learning in one’s mother tongue cannot be overemphasized. Denying Sierra Leoneans access to university because they failed English not only contradicts Sustainable Development Goal 4 (which calls for inclusive and equitable education) but also sustains cultural imperialism and postcolonial subjugation.
Research has consistently shown that children who learn in their first language perform better in comprehension and application. English should not be the key that unlocks education. It should be a bridge for communication, not a barrier to opportunity.
Let me be clear: I am not against English, nor do I oppose multilingual education. In fact, I strongly support it. But English should not determine who gets into university. Students have different strengths. The purpose of education should not be to create an elite class fluent in foreign speech, but to nurture thinkers, creators, and problem-solvers who can use knowledge to build society.
Instead of overemphasizing English, universities should focus on core subject areas relevant to each discipline. Science students should be assessed based on mathematics and science performance. Commercial students should be judged by their understanding of economics and business. Arts students should be evaluated for their grasp of history, literature, and civic knowledge.
Are we to deny all these capable students a university education simply because they struggle with English? Will English fix our economy or create jobs for our youth?
Na!
We must stop treating technical and vocational education as a dumping ground for those who “fail” English. We must stop equating fluency with intelligence. Education should not exclude—it should empower. It is time we begin to teach and learn in the languages that reflect who we are. Only then will we truly break the lingering chain of colonialism that still binds our minds, decades after political independence.
©Amadu Wurie Jalloh
19/10/25
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