By: Abu H. Kargbo
During annual education week celebration, hosted in Makeni 2025, stakeholders and development partners have lauded the educational initiatives, policies, and actions of the President Bio-led government aimed at improving individual lives and facilitating national development.
Carol Hannon, Deputy Head of Mission at the Irish Embassy, extolled the government’s bold step in providing not only free basic education but also the “leaving no one behind approach” through the radical inclusion policy.
She noted efforts to eradicate violence in schools by eliminating corporal punishment and addressing other related gender-based violence issues.
In his remarks, Alphonso Manley, National Coordinator of the Sierra Leone Civil Rights Coalition, shed light on the training of over 15,000 teachers by the Teaching Service Commission and the construction of over 500 classrooms across the country by the Free Quality School Education Secretariat among others.
However, he called on the government to provide logistics support such as vehicles, motorbikes and computers to name but a few to both the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education as well as the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education for effective implementation and monitoring of educational programs.
Commenting on the significance of the education week, Adama Momoh, Deputy Chief Education Officer at the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, said it is a moment to showcase gains made in the sector, gather feedback, as well as unite education stakeholders and development partners.
Conrad Sackey, the Minister of Basic and Secondary Education, called on stakeholders to approach the week with an open mind, as it is an opportunity to build partnerships and generate ideas, especially when “education is the foundation for the nation’s future.”
This year’s education week is themed “Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Education Preserving human agency in a world of automation”. The event was officially declared open by Dr Haja Ramatulai Wurie, Minister of Technical and Higher Education.
