By: Fatmata Grace Okekearu-Bo City
The Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE), with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has received 25 brand-new motorbikes to strengthen school quality assurance and improve foundational learning across Bo District.
The motorbikes were officially handed over during a ceremony in Bo and will be used by School Quality Assurance Officers to enhance school supervision, monitoring and support for institutions implementing foundational literacy and numeracy programmes.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Ishmail Lahai, Programme Officer for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Project at MBSSE, said the intervention demonstrates the Government’s commitment, in partnership with UNICEF, to improving the quality of education, particularly for children in the early grades.
He explained that motorbikes will significantly improve the mobility of School Quality Assurance Officers, enabling them to reach schools in remote and hard-to-access chiefdoms more efficiently. According to him, regular school visits, classroom observations and continuous professional support for teachers are essential to achieving improved learning outcomes.
Mr. Lahai noted that transportation has been one of the major challenges affecting effective school monitoring. He said the provision of the motorbikes would enable officers to cover more schools, strengthen quality assurance activities and provide timely feedback to teachers and school administrators to improve teaching and learning.
Receiving the motorbikes on behalf of the Deputy Director of Education for Bo District, Assistant Director of Education Foday Sawaneh described the donation as a significant contribution to the Government of Sierra Leone’s efforts to transform the education sector through its partnership with UNICEF.
He emphasized that quality assurance remains critical to ensuring that children acquire strong foundational literacy and numeracy skills. He warned that pupils who fail to develop the ability to read with understanding and perform basic mathematics at an early stage often experience academic difficulties later in their education.
Mr. Sawaneh stated that the motorbikes would address one of the major challenges faced by School Quality Assurance Officers by improving their mobility and increasing their presence in schools throughout the district.
The 25 motorbikes have been distributed among School Quality Assurance Officers serving the 16 chiefdoms of Bo District to strengthen monitoring, supervision and support services.
He expressed appreciation to UNICEF for the timely intervention and assured stakeholders that the motorbikes would be properly maintained and used strictly for official duties. He also called on District Education officials, local councils and other education stakeholders to continue supporting School Quality Assurance Officers in their efforts to improve the quality of education across Bo District.