By George M.O.Williams
The University of Sierra Leone had been unable to institute mechanism for the management of credible examinations processes according to the 2020 Auditor General’s report
According to the Report it was observed that sampled examination scripts collected at the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM) and Fourah Bay College (FBC) revealed that students attempted the examinations at these colleges even when they had not been registered.
It reported that some lecturers at the FBC did not submit examination questions to the Heads of Departments (HoDs), and that Module lecturers at both IPAM and FBC did not collect scripts for marking from the exams office, which contravened the examination policy.
“Lecturers did not mark and return examination grades and scripts on time which affected the publication of students’ grades and Grades given by lecturers for continuous assessment were not reflective of the students’ performance during examinations. There were also report of undue delays in the publication of results,” the Report shows.
University authorities that were interviewed revealed that academic malpractices were on the rise and had become endemic, and also that colleges lacked lecture rooms, equipped laboratories, well-resourced libraries, effective internet connectivity and modern technology for teaching and learning.