A Cabinet approved plan to replace Sierra Leone’s fragmented university admissions process with a single national digital platform moved closer to reality after a high level engagement in Freetown brought together government ministers, education regulators, and institutional leaders to map out the reform’s implementation.
Nigeria’s Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) was at the centre of the Freetown meeting, presenting a detailed framework for building a digital admissions architecture that would serve Universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions across Sierra Leone. The engagement was convened by the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education at the Radisson Blu Hotel.
Deputy Minister Sarjoh Aziz Kamara, who led an earlier Sierra Leonean delegation to Nigeria to study JAMB’s admissions model at its Annual Policy Meeting, revealed that Cabinet had sanctioned the creation of a Centralised Admissions Secretariat within the Ministry to oversee the new unified platform. He characterised the reform as a landmark advance for transparency, accountability, efficiency, and fairness in higher education.
Minister of Technical and Higher Education Dr Haja Ramatulai Wurie confirmed that the Centralised Admissions System is legally backed by the Universities Act of 2021. She stated that Sierra Leone was not seeking to copy Nigeria’s model but to draw on proven global practices and adapt them to local conditions. Dr Wurie also acknowledged Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, for his support, noting that the system would fundamentally restructure admissions nationally.
The Freetown engagement followed Nigeria’s Minister of Education approving a technical mission by JAMB to Sierra Leone, enabling JAMB officials to share direct implementation experience with local stakeholders after the delegation’s visit.
JAMB’s framework targets the elimination of admissions duplication, stronger data integrity, improved transparency, and better national education planning. Dr Wurie noted that implementation would involve the Tertiary Education Commission, the West African Examinations Council, the National Civil Registration Authority, the National Telecommunications Authority, and the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education.
Among those present were Permanent Secretary Mohamed Sheick Kargbo, Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education Conrad Sackey, Chairman of the Conference of Vice Chancellors and Principals Prof Edwin J.J. Momoh, WAEC Sierra Leone head Matilda Jusu, Director General of the National Civil Registration Authority Mohamed Massaquoi, and Director of Higher Education Emmanuel J. Momoh Esq.
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