Sierra Leone’s 2026 WASSCE results have delivered both celebration and crisis: 91,122 candidates representing 64.3% earned five credits in one sitting, pushing the national pass rate to 81.4% from 74% in 2025, yet only 11,772 candidates met the university entry requirement.
The figures released by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) on Tuesday 28th October 2026, show a clear improvement in overall performance, but expose English Language as the single biggest barrier to higher education for thousands of Sierra Leonean students.
According to the detailed breakdown, English Language remained the weakest subject. Only 9.77% of candidates earned a credit in English, while a staggering 63.33% failed the subject.
The contrast with Mathematics is sharp. 62.15% of candidates gained a credit in Mathematics, indicating a major turnaround in a subject that was once the most failed.
The implication is alarming: tens of thousands of students passed five subjects including Maths, but failed English, and therefore cannot enter university, which requires five credits including both English and Mathematics.
Education Minister Conrad Sackey described the 81.4% pass rate as evidence that reforms under the Free Quality School Education (FQSE) programme are working, but admitted that English Language remains a national emergency.
“We are pleased with the progress from 74% to 81.4% and the strong performance in Mathematics. But we are deeply concerned about English. We cannot have 63% failure in our official language,” he said.
WAEC data shows that of the 141,700+ candidates who sat the exam, 91,122 secured five credits in one sitting, a milestone that shows more students are mastering multiple subjects at once. Yet the university-qualifying figure of 11,772 represents less than 9% of the total candidature.
Headteachers and parents interviewed yesterday blamed the English crisis on poor reading culture, lack of qualified English teachers in rural areas, overcrowded classrooms, and over-reliance on Krio and social media shorthand among students.
“Children can solve quadratic equations but cannot write a correct sentence. That is what the results show,” said Mrs. Isata Kamara.
The Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education is expected to announce an emergency English Language improvement plan, including intensive teacher retraining, deployment of language labs, and compulsory comprehension and essay writing programmes from JSS to SSS.
For now, while 91,122 students have reason to celebrate five credits, only 11,772 can confidently apply to Fourah Bay College, Njala and other universities. For the rest, English has again closed the university gate.