SALONE WASSCE RESULTS: IS THIS WHAT WE BARGAINED FOR?
Like all other Sierra Leoneans we've read the disgraceful analysis of the last WASSCE results. It's a real shame but somehow, many people have told us they're not surprised because they saw it coming. We shall talk about the implications of this failure of the education system for the development of the country in other editions but for now let's share some perspectives on the analysis.
A total of 185 school centres had their results withheld pending an investigation by the ACC and WAEC
POLITICO - We don't know how WAEC selects its centres but we are tempted to believe that some were selected because of their strategic nature in the corruption game. We are waiting for the outcome of the ACC investigation but we hope the result will include the reasons why certain school buildings were selected as centres and who visited and approved them.
"A total number of 1, 859 candidates had three subject results cancelled."
POLITICO - Frankly, that's their business. We only hope that some didn't slip through the net out of other considerations.
"A total of 453 school candidates had their entire results cancelled for same ways of answering questions."
POLITICO - What does WAEC really expect? Don't they know that the cheating that has blighted WASSCE is actively encouraged by some school authorities? Somebody is whispering in our ears that even WAEC is not clean in this business. That's a serious allegation to make but we are willing to listen to them.
"Out of 1, 015 that were absent, 717 of them got results which is very unprecedented by the whole of Africa examination body."
POLITICO - So do you now understand why we are willing to listen to those who fervently believe that WAEC is part of the cheating? How come people got grades for exams they didn't take? A mistake in one or two cases can be overlooked. But we are talking about more than one thousand candidates. Shocking!
"A total of 9 principals (Names Withheld) had been alleged on investigation by the ACC for sound examination malpractice in their schools."
POLITICO - Well, we don't want to encourage any trial by media but we want the ACC to speed up any investigations regarding this very important matter involving a very important public examination. Any delay will lead to suspects interfering with witnesses, damaging evidence or escaping the country. This is very much about the future of Sierra Leone.
We must warn WAEC, that they run the risk of losing all credibility if this trend continues. WAEC results could soon become worthless pieces of paper which employing authorities would reject even for the most basic of jobs and entrance requirements. WAEC pays its staff and examiners disgraceful wages. When we consider the sensitive nature of the job they do, we have no alternative but to accuse WAEC of creating the conditions on which a culture of cheating is now being developed. We would support De Pa to declare a State of Emergency regarding this issue.
THE DAY PIERRE NKURUNZIZA AMBUSHED HIS OWN PEOPLE
It doesn't get funnier than this - a so-called democratically-elected president announces a date and time for his inauguration after the most crooked of elections and invites his own people and the world to witness the event. He woke up from a sound sleep induced by a heavy meal and arbitrarily decides to bring the event forward by a week. He then makes the announcement on the eve of his new date, completely taking everybody by surprise and making it totally impossible for even some of those hypocritical African leaders to attend. So where are we now with democracy in Africa?
1. The fragile thing we call African is under attack. Multiparty gains made beginning in the 1990s are being reversed with every passing day - Burundi and the neighbour, Rwanda - are heading towards unconstitutional term extensions, Togo and Gabon are in the hands of an undeclared monarchies. Angola has been under one-man rule for the longest time, Algeria and Egypt are under military rule sanctioned by the big powers after flawed elections and so on. The picture is bleak.
2. Pierre Nkurunziza invited the world, then changed the event date without informing them. They wouldn't have come anyway. But he continues anyway. Sanction, yes, but it's the poor people who would continue to suffer.
3. Opposition parties are under pressure in Africa from incumbent parties who can't stand the presence of their compatriots who belong to other parties. Opposition parties are constantly being harassed. They need help from the international community, not hypocritical comments seeking to secure their corporate interests.
4. The ordinary people of Burundi have done their best to kick out an undemocratic leader. They've shed blood and tears but the world is content to issue statements in Brussels and announce sanctions that are widely violated by their own companies.
5. We have to be honest with ourselves, Africa remains the worst place in the world to live. FACT.
ARMED ROBBERS ENJOYING A FIELD DAY IN FREETOWN AGAIN
Once again armed robbers in Freetown appear to have taken several steps ahead of the Sierra Leone Police. Many communities are having sleepless nights. It's the month of August when Sierra Leone records the heaviest rains and it's common knowledge that armed robbers have always used this period to intensify their bad habit of sneaking up on people in the dead of night to distress them.
We know very well that there's nothing like 100% security anywhere in the world but for criminals to appear to always be ahead of our Force for Good, is a matter of grave concern to us. So why is this so?
1. Frankly, many questionable characters have found their way into the police force through politically-motivated recruitments. Those are the people now embarrassing our Force for Good by either facilitating or taking direct part in some criminal activities in our communities. Some of them are standing trial for various offences right now.
2. When not too long ago a group of young people in the Wellington area of Freetown set up their neighbourhood watch groups to protect their communities, two of them were killed by police officers who say they thought the boys were criminals. We have no idea if anybody was tried for those killings but it sent very bad signals to the rest of us and probably emboldened the criminals.
3. The communities that are being raided by armed robbers are mostly those that sprung up in the last ten years. They are completely not served by the state in terms of basic service like electricity, water, health care and law and order facilities. How come people are allowed to build houses in parts of the city that are not covered by the normal services of the state?
4. We are beginning to have second thoughts about the effectiveness of Police Partnership Boards created as part of police reforms in this country as a key plank of the so-called community policing project. May be we should scrap them and find other ways of engaging the police.
5. We also note that sometimes when the police bring these criminals before the courts, they are set free on ridiculous bail conditions. Aren't these the people who should be taken off our streets for a very long time?
(C) Politico 01/09/15
