The Government of Sierra Leone has on Wednesday 29th March 2023 approved the Comprehensive School Safety Policy (CSSP) and associated guidelines to ensure the comprehensive safety of the school-age population in the country.
The overall aim of the policy is to provide an overarching multi-sectoral framework that will guide school safety and child safeguard, protecting learners and education service providers from injury, disaster, and risks resulting from violence, abuse and harm in schools.
The policy also aims to protect education sector investment through the adoption of strategies for risk reduction and resilience planning by the school system. The goal is to secure educational continuity by ensuring safe learning environments in and around schools during school hours.
The policy is formulated around three pillars: (i) Safe School facilities and learning environment; (ii) Disaster risk reduction in schools; and (iii) Protection from violence and other forms of abuse and harm in and around school.
“The CSSP invests in children’s learning and is geared toward safeguarding the rights of learners. When learners feel safe and protected, their achievements in school are likely to be greater. In addition, the policy will have a positive impact on learners from disadvantaged groups, making it an equitable investment and linking it to long-term positive impacts on education outcomes.,” according to the Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) Dr. Moinina David Sengeh.
He said the CSSP also recognizes the opportunities available in the international context, adding that its implementation will be critical for Sierra Leone’s achievement of a number of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 4 which seeks to ‘build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all’ by 2030.
He said the implementation of the Policy rests on a consultative and collaborative effort among Ministries, Departments and Agencies, the private sector, and development partners, noting that the Government of Sierra Leone, on its part, is fully committed to ensuring the successful implementation of the CSSP.
“I, therefore, wish to make an urgent call to all citizens of Sierra Leone and development partners to support this policy document and ensure that Sierra Leone’s basic and senior secondary schools provide safe environments for all their learners,” he said.
The CSSP comprises four thematic areas. The first thematic area is safety on school grounds. The object of this theme is protecting school compounds and facilities from intrusion, providing protective safety measures and safeguards, and achieving an aesthetically pleasing environment, to facilitate teaching and learning.
The second theme under this pillar is to ensure safety. The object of this theme is to make certain that school structures are properly constructed and maintained in conformity with requisite building standards and codes.
Ensuring safety of the school environment is the third theme, and this has the objective of providing proper treatment of all forms of waste, maintenance of the natural ambience of the schools, and provision of learning facilities.
The final theme under the third pillar is ensuring a safe teaching and learning environment for pupils and teachers. What this theme aspires to, is the availability of teaching and learning materials/aids at all times for use by students, and the promotion of effective communication between service providers and students.