By: James Kamara-Manneh
History have it that Sierra Leone was once described as the Athens of West Africa and for obvious reasons it was an epitome of quality education and a paradigm of effective learning in West Africa and beyond. Nationals of different nations across Africa were flocking into Sierra Leone for a feel of what one would view as an enviable system of knowledge acquisition. Those who came to lick from our sources of knowledge returned home with positive minds to transformed and put into practice what was acquired from Sierra Leone.
On the Contrary, backwardness, nepotism, blind politics, mismanagement has crumbled what was once enjoyed by our contemporaries. In a nut shell, the giver of knowledge and developments has become the lap dog of knowledge and beggars to the West. For decades now our Country has not been able to compete with the educational standards of other African countries; this is evidence both in our national and international examinations.
However, the country’s educational system is nothing to write home about or be proud of. One may wonder how a once outstanding educational system degenerates into a substandard system of learning. The factors for such degeneration are compelling and overwhelming. Chief among them is corruption. Integrity has been washed off academic institutions. Many teachers ask for, accept and receive bribes for grades. Amongst many evidences, was when the vibrant-energetic young Anti-corruption Commissioner Francis Ben Kaifala paraded some teachers around the cotton tree axis for allegedly accepting bribes and other corruption offences.
There are also evidences that teachers are demanding for sex and other non-monetary advantages in order to favor students with undeserved high grades. Teachers have now become traders as they now sell food stuffs to students who are often coerced to buy. Exams question papers are mostly divulged to students who are ready to pay certain amounts, thereby rendering the very essence of exams useless.
There is huge gap in the teacher-student ratio, as there are many schools across the country without the required number of teachers needed to handle the approved academic disciplines. As a result of such, one teacher will be required to teach many subjects in many classes daily. No matter how competent a teacher, he/she will be tired and inefficient when subjected to such heavy assignment. Sometimes, teachers in such situations instruct learning selectively, leaving other students to go home without learning anything.
Recently, Sierra Leone has made great strides in the educational sector. Through the declaration and implementation of Free Quality Education by President Julius Maada Bio, schools are now flooded with thousands of students whose parents cannot afford the cost for tuition and school materials.
This has led to overcrowding in schools because of insufficient classrooms. In some schools, a tight classroom is inundated with over one hundred students. Poor quality in learning delivery and absorption will characterize everything. No effective and proper learning takes place in a congested environment with people from diverse background.
In helping with our educational system government foreign partners have been pouring millions of dollars in the Free Quality Education projects. Recently, the Ministry of Finance has hosted the signing of a sixty-eight (68) Million Dollars project which the Government of Sierra Leone has secured to finance the Sierra Leone Education Sector Support Project (SLESSP). The money will be utilized both the Ministry of Basic & Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) and the Ministry of Technical & Higher Education (MTHE).
The project is funded by: Saudi Development Fund (SDF) – $25M, Opec Fund for International Development (OFID) – $20M, African Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) – $20M) and $3m from the Government of Sierra Leone GoSL respectively.
We also saw local companies throwing their supports in various ways just to compliment the government`s flagship program in rebranding the education sector. Prizes must be given to Mercury international for constructing the first female school in Port Loko. The Girls Secondary School which was solely funded by the Mercury International Betting Company was named after one time Linguistics Lecturer at Fourah Bay College Dr. Kadie Sesay.
The construction of the school was part of President Bio’s 2018 election campaign promise to the people of Port Loko District and falls under the clarion call to support the Free Quality Education. That promise was crystalized out of the objectives of combating early marriage, teenage pregnancy and to also promote girl child education.
There are many other examples of local and international partners who have been contributing to see our education get back on its feet. The problems lie with Lack of monitoring systems which is another serious deficiency. The country’s Ministry of Education has a small number of school inspectors to monitor the thousands of schools across the country; it is seldom to meet school inspectors these days but the government has recruited more and has enhanced their mobility with motor bikes. Students are therefore left at the mercy of school authorities and teachers. The excesses of principals, head teachers and teachers sometimes go unreported.
Another compounding issue that is affecting school going pupils is poor parenting which worsens the whole situation. Many parents condone their children in bribing their way through by literally giving money to teachers to favor their children in exams and other academic evaluation mechanisms. This mostly often continues onto university. No wonder the proliferation of substandard professionals. Some heads should bow in shame!
Addressing such a menace requires all hands on deck. A rotten educational system is enough to destroy the whole fabrics of society. With quality and integrity-driven education, there will be professional medics, engineers, lawyers, teachers, journalists, bankers, and accountants to name but a few.
School or college authorities, teachers, lecturers or personnel of an examination conducting body caught in any form of exams malpractice should be banned for life in the teaching profession and also prevented from practicing any other profession. No form of academic malpractice will be successful without the aid of the aforementioned people. Laws should be legislated to speak to this effect.
Government should recruit more staff and empower the Inspectorate Division of the Education Ministry to properly and uncompromisingly monitor activities and to assess the quality learning taking place in academic institutions and report anomalies for prompt and apt action. This will instill soberness, commitment and dedication in both academic authorities and students.
Parents and communities also have a role to play. Children must not be encouraged to bribe for grades. By doing so, they are being encouraged to always do the wrong thing in getting what they want. Students must be made to understand that shortcut to success is always deadly, dangerous and regrettable. Community people should also be active in reporting students who use hideouts in communities to smoke and drink dangerous substances or engage in sexual acts. Let the waywardness of someone else’s child become the concern of all and sundry. Mind you if those children are left uncultured, they would become hooligans, thieves or armed robbers who would terrorize and destabilize society.
Also, government should build more schools in the provinces and more classrooms in existing schools in the capital, Freetown and provincial headquarters to address the issue of overcrowding in schools. Chairs, desks and teaching and learning materials should be adequately provided in all government-owned and government-assisted schools through sufficient and timely disbursement of subsidies. More competent teachers should be recruited to drastically bridge the huge gap in teacher-student ratio.
Local and international organizations working on education should collaborate with government to enhance practical and problem-solving system of learning. Let it be 20% theory and 80% practical. Students should be allowed and persuaded to be innovative by going beyond the classroom to have a holistic body of knowledge of how a particular academic discipline relates to society. This recommended system of participatory learning or learning by discovery is extremely essential in bringing out the best from students.
Fixing the country’s unattractive educational system is the best thing any government can offer to Sierra Leoneans. However, such fixing endeavor should be devoid of white wash political projects in the learning sector aimed at scoring political points. When it is genuinely done, the nation will flourish and posterity will judge and eulogize those who made it happen.
Government must always act firmly if they really mean business. The launch of the Free Quality Education project should be coupled with full Implementation. Those who think their fraudulent actions will derail the free and quality education programme must not be allowed to succeed.
We will continue to appreciate the Police for their swift action in recently intercepting a taxi with vehicle No. AOJ 544 with Free Education books and other materials at Mile 38.
The driver of the vehicle said those materials were handed over to him by one Titus whom he said is a teacher at the above mentioned addressed. Swift investigation into such matters and more should be acted upon and bring defaulters to book so as to deter potential criminals who would are bent on sabotaging the programme.
It is only when everybody irrespective of tribe or political differences decides to help the government in rebranding our rotten educational system the better for our children`s- children.