[tatsu_section bg_color= “” bg_image= “” bg_repeat= “no-repeat” bg_attachment= ‘{“d”:”scroll”}’ bg_position= ‘{“d”:”top left”}’ bg_size= ‘{“d”:”cover”}’ bg_animation= “none” padding= ‘{“d”:”6px 0px 3px 0px”}’ margin= ‘{“d”:”0px 0px 0px 0px”}’ video_preload= “auto” bg_video_mp4_src= “” bg_video_ogg_src= “” bg_video_webm_src= “” overlay_color= “” overlay_blend_mode= “normal” section_height_type= “auto” custom_height= ‘{“d”:””}’ vertical_align= “center” top_divider= “none” top_divider_zindex= “9999” bottom_divider_zindex= “9999” bottom_divider= “none” top_divider_height= ‘{“d”:”100″}’ top_divider_position= “above” bottom_divider_height= ‘{“d”:”100″}’ bottom_divider_position= “below” top_divider_color= “#ffffff” bottom_divider_color= “#ffffff” invert_top_divider= “0” invert_bottom_divider= “0” flip_top_divider= “0” flip_bottom_divider= “0” section_id= “” section_class= “” section_title= “” offset_value= “0px” full_screen_header_scheme= “background–dark” overflow= “” z_index= “0” hide_in= “” animate= “1” animation_type= “none” animation_delay= “0” animation_duration= “300” border_style= ‘{“d”:”solid”,”l”:”solid”,”t”:”solid”,”m”:”solid”}’ border= ‘{“d”:””}’ border_color= “” border_radius= “” box_shadow= “0px 0px 0px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0)” key= “b7wxCAQEYl”][tatsu_row full_width= “0” bg_color= “” border_style= ‘{“d”:”solid”,”l”:”solid”,”t”:”solid”,”m”:”solid”}’ border= ‘{“d”:””}’ border_color= “” no_margin_bottom= “0” equal_height_columns= “0” gutter= “medium” column_spacing= “px” fullscreen_cols= “0” swap_cols= “0” padding= ‘{“d”:”0px 0px 0px 0px”}’ margin= ‘{“d”:”0px 0px”}’ row_id= “” row_class= “” box_shadow= “0px 0px 0px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0)” border_radius= “0” hide_in= “” animate= “1” animation_type= “none” animation_delay= “0” animation_duration= “300” layout= “1/1” key= “GOASqtTjdS”][tatsu_column bg_color= “” bg_image= “” bg_repeat= “no-repeat” bg_attachment= “scroll” bg_position= ‘{“d”:”top left”}’ bg_size= ‘{“d”:”cover”}’ padding= ‘{“d”:”0px 0px 0px 0px”}’ margin= ‘{“d”:””}’ border_style= ‘{“d”:”solid”,”l”:”solid”,”t”:”solid”,”m”:”solid”}’ border= ‘{“d”:””}’ border_color= “” border_radius= “0” box_shadow_custom= “0px 0px 0px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0)” video_preload= “auto” bg_video_mp4_src= “” bg_video_ogg_src= “” bg_video_webm_src= “” overlay_color= “” overlay_blend_mode= “normal” animate_overlay= “none” link_overlay= “” vertical_align= “none” sticky= “0” offset= ‘{“d”:”0px 0px”}’ column_parallax= “0” column_width= ‘{“d”:100,”l”:100,”t”:100,”m”:100}’ column_mobile_spacing= “0” image_hover_effect= “none” column_hover_effect= “none” hover_box_shadow= “0px 0px 0px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0)” overflow= “” col_id= “” column_class= “” top_divider= “none” top_divider_height= ‘{“d”:”100″,”m”:”0″}’ top_divider_color= “#ffffff” flip_top_divider= “0” top_divider_zindex= “9999” bottom_divider= “none” bottom_divider_height= ‘{“d”:”100″,”m”:”0″}’ bottom_divider_color= “#ffffff” flip_bottom_divider= “0” bottom_divider_zindex= “9999” left_divider= “none” left_divider_width= ‘{“d”:”50″,”m”:”0″}’ left_divider_color= “#ffffff” invert_left_divider= “0” left_divider_zindex= “9999” right_divider= “none” right_divider_width= ‘{“d”:”50″,”m”:”0″}’ right_divider_color= “#ffffff” invert_right_divider= “0” right_divider_zindex= “9999” z_index= “0” hide_in= “” animate= “1” animation_type= “none” animation_delay= “0” animation_duration= “300” layout= “1/1” key= “OYdEAoxDC”][tatsu_animated_heading text= “FIFA Donates over 10,000 Footballs to Schools in Sierra Leone” tag_to_use= “h3” anime_type= “anime_split_letter” text_color= ‘{“id”:”palette:0″,”color”:”#000000″}’ line_color= ‘{“id”:”palette:0″,”color”:”#000000″}’ alignment= “left” anime_duration= “20” typography= ‘{“d”:””}’ hide_in= “” css_id= “” css_classes= “” animate= “1” animation_type= “none” animation_delay= “0” animation_duration= “300” padding= ‘{“d”:””}’ margin= ‘{“d”:””}’ border_style= ‘{“d”:”solid”,”l”:”solid”,”t”:”solid”,”m”:”solid”}’ border= ‘{“d”:””}’ border_color= “” border_radius= “” box_shadow= “0px 0px 0px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0)” key= “me8DZpe9b”][/tatsu_animated_heading][tatsu_text bg_color= “” color= “” max_width= ‘{“d”:”100″}’ wrap_alignment= “center” text_alignment= ‘{“d”:”left”}’ margin= ‘{“d”:”0px 0px 30px 0px”}’ box_shadow= “0px 0px 0px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0)” padding= ‘{“d”:”0px 0px 0px 0px”}’ border_style= ‘{“d”:”solid”,”l”:”solid”,”t”:”solid”,”m”:”solid”}’ border= ‘{“d”:”0px 0px 0px 0px”}’ border_color= “” border_radius= “0px” text_typography= ‘{“d”:””}’ hide_in= “” css_id= “” css_classes= “” animate= “1” animation_type= “none” animation_delay= “0” animation_duration= “300” key= “4kJgaGlzR”]

The football governing body in the world Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) through the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) has handed over ten thousand eight hundred and twenty (10820) footballs to the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) for onward distribution to Schools nationwide.

The official presentation of the footballs took place on Tuesday, July 4th 2023 at the Minister’s New England Ville Office.

Speaking during the handing over ceremony, the School Programmes Facilities Officer at the SLFA Mr Samuel Davies said the initiative of giving balls to schools in Sierra Leone started in November last year when FIFA invited member states to a seminar in Ivory Coast and the need to go back to grassroots football was top on the agenda, especially for WAFU Zone A member countries of which Sierra leone is among.

He said the donated footballs are designed explicitly by Adidas for use in Africa and they are size Four balls for children between ages four to fourteen.

He said they agreed that if they must go back to grassroots football, then they need to go back to the schools, noting that FIFA wants to use football as a subject and a career path that will be studied in school as the economic benefits of football is enormous, citing the Senegalese superstar Sadio Mane as an example.

“Besides the footballs given to schools, we stand to benefit from grants for organizing workshops and training for Physical Health Education (PHE) teachers and organising competitions among school-going pupils. The project will start with a pilot phase and after the pilot phase, FIFA expects the line ministries and agency to write a letter of consent to them and afterwards, the Ministry can apply for grants up to USD$50,000 to promote football in schools,” he said.

The SLFA Technical Director Mr Ibrahim Bah said for Sierra Leone to boost grassroots football, the country needs to have a functional grassroots structure in place and that is what the country has been suffering from since.

He reiterates FIFA’s commitment to promoting grassroots, youth and women’s football, noting that FIFA is willing to finance grassroots football for the next four years.

He said the SLFA already set up a programme to train over a thousand grassroots coaches across the country.
According to Mr Bah, FIFA emphasises grassroots football, this will eliminate age fraud in Sierra Leone’s football.

The Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education Dr. Moinina David Sengeh thanked FIFA on behalf of pupils in Sierra Leone, noting that with the age bracket of four to fourteen years, the footballs can be distributed to pupils (Girl Schools inclusive) in Pre-Primary, Primary and Junior Secondary Schools which is about ten thousand schools nationwide according to the Ministry’s Annual School Census.

He said the Ministry will collaborate with SLFA for the distribution of the footballs across the country.
He said some of the footballs can also be used for the school league, noting that the Ministry has re-started the school league again.

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The British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone Ms. Lisa Chesney has announced an additional twenty-five million Pounds (£25m) grant for a new five-year programme funded by the United Kingdom government to support Secondary Schools in the country.

This announcement was made on Thursday 16th March 2023 at the New Brookfield’s Hotel in Freetown when celebrating the closing of the 1st phase of the project.

“We are gathered here to celebrate the learning from all these interventions and more. But this is not just looking backwards at what has happened. I want to look forward to it too. Today, it is my great pleasure to announce a new five-year programme funded by the UK government to build on and consolidate Leh Wi Lan gains. Our new Secondary School improvement programme with the Government of Sierra Leone will make up to 25 million Pounds available for continued secondary school improvement, system strengthening, policy development and planning,” she said.

According to her, Mott McDonald was selected by competition to implement this new programme, adding that they are also selecting an organization to work closely with MBSSE over the next years on policy and planning.

She expressed delight that the event marks a moment of reflection as they enter the next phase in UK support to the education sector in Sierra Leone.

“We all know that any programme can only be good as the prevailing policy environment and leadership in the sector – and both have been excellent, gaining Sierra Leone recognition internationally as well as nationally. This has needed vision and boldness – the investment in human capital the government is making today sets the stage for an intergenerational roll back of poverty and progress for women, in particular. We are proud of our contribution to these achievements,” she said.

The British High Commissioner said the Radical Inclusion and Free Quality School Education have provided a clear agenda for action, noting that Leh Wi Lan has worked in close collaboration with a wide range of MBSSE colleagues at national, district and school level – under the dynamic and exemplary leadership of Minister Sengeh.

According to her, the aim has not only been to improve the quality of education delivery at school level but also to build the education system’s own internal capacity to deliver, adding that the impact has been achieved through a judicious blend of many impactful interventions over the past six years.

She said the event is to share the many lessons learnt and the incredible achievements of the Leh Wi Lan Project funded by the United Kingdom Aid through the British High Commission, implemented by Mott Macdonald, working closely with MBSSE.

“This has been our flagship intervention in the education sector since 2016, during which time Leh Wi Lan has become a widely known household name. The quality of the learning experience for all secondary learners has improved but especially for girls and children with disabilities,” she said.

She said the recent visit of the British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly shows how effective the United Kingdom and Sierra Leone work together on the issues that matter to both parties, adding that education was front and centre on this visit and according to Mr. Cleverly, the children at school were wonderful ambassadors for the power of investing in education.

The Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education Dr. Moinina David Sengeh highlighted gains made by Sierra Leone in the education sector, noting that there is absolutely no indicator of learning in which Sierra Leone is not better today than where we were in 2018, adding that Sierra Leone will only get better in the coming years.

He encouraged partners to go beyond the figures that they are seeing and go to the classrooms and see the impact in the education sector for themselves.
“I want you to look at the partnership between Sierra Leone and the UK in three ‘I’s; Information, Impact and Idea,” he said

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Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) is serving as the host to seven other African countries on the First Foundational Learning Exchange (FLEX) in a bid to create an equivalent to the World Education Forum that’s focused on foundational learning.

Participating countries are Sierra Leone, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Malawi and Nigeria and senior development leaders including the World Bank Global Director for Education Jaime Saavedra.

President Bio who Co-Chair the UNESCO HighLevel Steering Committee on Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), convened the inaugural Foundational Learning Exchange at the Freetown International Conference Center, Sierra Leone, on February 6-7.

The exchange assembled ministers of education, civil servants, teachers, NGOs and international partners to re-commit to improving learning outcomes for children and exchange solutions for acceleration progress.

In his statement, President Julius Maada Bio said, Sierra Leone identify closely with the vision statement from the UN Secretary-General on transforming education, in which he called for students to be able to learn, noting that through the Freetown Manifesto, Sierra Leone is building regional support for transforming education.

“I hosted the spotlight session on Foundational Learning alongside the President of the World Bank and the Executive Director of UNICEF. As a global champion for transforming education and meeting our SDG 4 goals by 2030, I have also selected foundational learning as a focus,” he said.

According to the President, Sierra Leone’s work in education is underlined by four simple principles; firstly, Sierra Leone believe that education is a fundamental right and not a privilege, secondly, Sierra Leone believe that in the exercise of that fundamental right, access to education must be universal, equal, comprehensively safe, and radically inclusive of all genders, abilities, pregnant, rural-dwelling, all ages, and all socio-economic backgrounds.

“We have added one million more learners, especially girls, achieved gender parity in basic education, and registered higher achievement outcomes for girls. We also cater to specialised learning and teaching materials and provide hot school meals in poor and deprived areas. We have proved that gender parity is possible; girls are high achieving learners; with free education, from pre-primary through university, for girls who study STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture – in our unique case–, and Mathematics) disciplines, unprecedented numbers of girls have enrolled in these STEAM courses since the introduction our flagship free-quality school education programme,” he said.

He said thirdly, Sierra Leone believes in training its highly resourceful and talented teachers and school administrators at the highest levels, partner with communities, leverage technology, and predicate a rich and innovative curriculum based on five key competencies (the five “Cs”) –Creativity, Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Computational Thinking, and Civics.

“Finally, we believe that education is not a cost; it is an investment. It is the best investment we can make for an inclusive and sustainable future for our country. There is recognition among global leaders that SDG-4 remains the best accelerator for achieving all the Sustainable Development Goals. My arguments on the global stage have been informed by these fundamental principles,” he said.
The Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education Dr. Moinina David Sengeh thanked his colleague Ministers for coming to Freetown for the learning exchange.

“What started as a conversation in Paris, in London, in New York in small rooms in 2021/2022 with likeminded friends has today become a reality. Thanks to the United Nations Secretary General five Global Champions of education inclusive of my President. To this moment, it still feels like a dream to proudly say we are hosting the first Foundational Learning Exchange between African Countries and leading global organisations to prioritize conversations around the foundamental stages of the child’s development,” he said.

He said Sierra Leone is actively working in expanding access to education since President Bio came to power through the introduction of the Free Quality School Education (FQSE) Programme.

Director of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics Dr Silvia Montoya encouraged nations to come together and embrace foundational learning, adding that “If the children cannot learn to read; they cannot read to learn.”
She calls on African leaders to own up to their commitment in improving foundational learning in their countries.

The World Bank Global Director for Education Jaime Saavedra emphasized the negative impact of learning poverty among countries in Sub-Sahara Africa, noting that all Heads of State must come together and fight against such learning poverty.
“With 7 in 10 of today’s 10-year-olds in low- and middle-income countries now unable to read a simple text, political leaders and society must swiftly move to recover this generation’s future by ensuring learning recovery strategies and investments,” he said.

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2021/2022 West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) saw the largest cohort of examination candidates ever with the number of candidates sitting the exam increased by 479% from 2018-2022 reaching a record 186,695 students for whom results have been released to the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE).

“For the second year in a row, there are more female students than male students sitting WASSCE, the pass rate for individual papers has climbed from 64% in 2021 to 77% in 2022, the number of students obtaining the benchmark 5 credits in a single sitting has increased by 1863% between 2018 and 2022, the top student sat and passed all 8 of his subjects with an average grade of 1.63, i.e. something better than a B2, and the top student was a girl and a joint second was also a girl, according to the Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education Dr Moinina David Sengeh during the announcement of the result yesterday on SLBC Television.

He said the top school saw 100% of its candidates obtain the benchmark 5 credits as well as all meeting the minimum requirements for direct entry to university degree programmes, with an average grade of 2.33, i.e. approximately a B2, adding that the number of candidates achieving direct university degree programme entry requirements by obtaining 5 credits including a credit in English Language and/or Mathematics in a single sitting has increased by an amazing 1,781% over the period 2018:2022.

He said in 2022 more than 108,000 students obtained the requirements, which is more than the previous 5 years combined, with more females than males obtaining these requirements.

The Minister said the pass rates for English Language and Mathematics are 63% and 90% respectively, with males slightly outperforming females in the English Language nationally but in mathematics, the opposite was true with females outperforming males.

According to the Minister, there remains large variation in performance across subjects, noting that of the twenty subjects with most candidates sitting, Science (Core) had the highest pass rate (95%) and Commerce the lowest (11%).

“There remains a large variation in performance across districts, including in terms of average grade/unit, percentage obtaining 3 and above credits and for obtaining the requirements for entry into a full first-degree programme Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education,” he said.

The Minister reiterated the strive made by the government in the Free Quality School Education package in achieving such a height which among them includes; payment of school fees, examination fees, and provision of core textbooks.
“When the government ensures that 3.1 million core textbooks in English and Maths are in the hands of our secondary school children, they learn. When the government ensures that it recruits and trains more teachers, increasing their salaries 3 times in 5 years, they perform better. When the government makes learning materials like past papers and other curriculum content freely available to students using digital technology, we see improved learning. When the government invests in building hundreds of classrooms, providing thousands of furniture and making schools safer, ensuring our children can go to school and return home safer through school transportation, those children feel safer and learn better,” he said.
He furthered that when the government reviews all its education curriculum, making it fit for purpose, the children become more competitive globally, adding that when the government engages students, teachers, parents, and the community in the provision of more inclusive and equitable education, quality improves for all.

“These are but a few commitments we have sustained over the last four years. While, we are not surprised at the outcomes, and the jump is not spontaneous (that is we have been seeing upward trends over the past years) we are hopeful that we have more to do as we seek to transform our country through education,” the Minister said.

In New York, President Bio committed to sustaining an investment of a minimum of 20% in the education sector in addition to the following:- cut in half the number of out-of-school children of primary school age by 2030, compared to today – launch an Alliance for Foundational Learning through which we further commit to cutting the rate of learning poverty in half or more by 2030 – commit to preparing our students for the future by making climate education a central component at all levels – commit to setting measurable targets for skills training and technical education.

The top 10 schools based on average grades are; Kenema Kamboi (Lebanese) Senior Secondary School, West Urban SCIENCE WORLD S.S.S., 16W BLACKHALL RD., ASHORBIE CORNE, WestUrban Providence International Senior High School, Freetown, West Urban Hammond Int. Academy Secondary School, Freetown, Bonthe Mallory Jansen Memorial High School (SSS) Ngolala, West Urban PENTECOSTAL S.S.S., ABERDEEN FERRY ROAD, Port Loko Furlange School of Excellence(EDUCAID) Senior Sec. School, West-Rural Dele-Peddle International High School, Freetown and West-Rural EXTRA MILE OBA FUNKIA COMMUNITY S.S.S., GODERICH.
The top 4 candidates based on average grades are: Kamboi (Lebanese) Senior Secondary School, Kenema SKAIKAY NASMA (6As), Kenema Community Initiative Academy Senior Secondary School, KALLON KHADIJAH HASSAN (5As), West Urban Providence International Senior High School Freetown NCHEZOR PETER ONYEKA (5As), WestUrban Saline High School, Freetown KPAKA JULIUS ALIE (5As).

“We would like to wish all candidates, parents and most especially our teachers a big congratulation. We won’t stop expecting you and ourselves because our future depends on it. Let’s keep transforming education and learning for all,” the Minister concluded.

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The President of the Republic of Sierra Leone Julius Maada Bio has regarded the consultative Meeting held with pupils on Wednesday 7th September in Build up to the Transforming Education Summit in New York this month is the best consultation he has had during his presidency and promised to continu.

He made this statement during the meeting with sixty pupils from Pre-Primary, Primary, Junior Secondary School and Senior Secondary Schools, held at State House in Freetown. Pupils comprise special needs kids, adult learners, members of the Youth Advisory Group (YAG) from across the country.

Pupils highlighted challenges they are faced with like the lack of trained and qualified teachers, teachers not going to teach, poor WASH facilities in schools, lack of attention from teachers, special needs pupils have to struggle with unfriendly learning environment, teachers condition of service, lack of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in schools, lack of libraries among others.

“Indeed we have a learning crisis and that is my greatest worry. What is most important for kids is to be able to read and write at an early age, acquiring the skill later will be a problem,” the President said.

According to the President, all of the issues highlighted by the kids are very important, some of them he knows about, some he did not know about and some he had known about but had not paid attention to.

He said he understands about the lack of furniture, lack of teachers’ attendance, lack of WASH facilities, too many pupils in classrooms, among others, noting that when he embarked on providing Free Quality School Education (FQSE) he was expecting schools to be overwhelmed because he was very much concerned with access.

He commended the pupils for speaking out, noting that his administration will look for the money to address the issues raised and also come up with policies that will address their concerns.

“I choose education because I believe in the transformative power of education for personal development, community development, and for national development,” he said.

Declaring the purpose of the meeting, the Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education Dr Moinina David Sengeh said he called the pupils to a consultative meeting because he was asked by the President, noting that all of the pupils selected this is their first time going to State House.

He said the meeting will inform what the President will be speaking to in the Transforming Education Summit in New York this month, noting that the President will be speaking about the concerns of pupils in Sierra Leone.

The Transforming Education Summit is being convened in response to a global crisis in education – one of equity and inclusion, quality and relevance. Often slow and unseen, this crisis is having a devastating impact on the futures of children and youth worldwide. The Summit provides a unique opportunity to elevate education to the top of the global political agenda and to mobilize action, ambition, solidarity and solutions to recover pandemic-related learning losses and sow the seeds to transform education in a rapidly changing world.

President Bio is the current Co-Chair (along with the UNESCO Director General) of the UNESCO High-Level Steering Committee for Sustainable Development Goals 4. At the Pre-Summit in Paris in June 2022, leaders committed to monitor the delivery of quality education for all and to hold themselves accountable from the global, down to the regional, to national and local levels.

The United Secretary General, Antonio Gutteres, has invited President Bio and Sierra Leone to co-host the Transforming Education Summit that will be held on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly next month. In preparation, the President decided to hold a series of consultations with learners right across the sector from pre-primary to our out-of-school learners.

“We may be a small nation but Sierra Leone is today looked up to as a nation for transformative ideas on education. And, yes, we have achieved all of this and even more in just four short years,” the President concluded.

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[tatsu_section bg_color= “” bg_image= “” bg_repeat= “no-repeat” bg_attachment= ‘{“d”:”scroll”}’ bg_position= ‘{“d”:”top left”}’ bg_size= ‘{“d”:”cover”}’ bg_animation= “none” padding= ‘{“d”:”6px 0px 3px 0px”}’ margin= ‘{“d”:”0px 0px 0px 0px”}’ bg_video_mp4_src= “” bg_video_ogg_src= “” bg_video_webm_src= “” overlay_color= “” overlay_blend_mode= “normal” section_height_type= “auto” custom_height= ‘{“d”:””}’ vertical_align= “center” top_divider= “none” top_divider_zindex= “9999” bottom_divider_zindex= “9999” bottom_divider= “none” top_divider_height= ‘{“d”:”100″}’ top_divider_position= “above” bottom_divider_height= ‘{“d”:”100″}’ bottom_divider_position= “below” top_divider_color= “#ffffff” bottom_divider_color= “#ffffff” invert_top_divider= “0” invert_bottom_divider= “0” flip_top_divider= “0” flip_bottom_divider= “0” section_id= “” section_class= “” section_title= “” offset_value= “0px” full_screen_header_scheme= “background–dark” overflow= “” z_index= “0” hide_in= “” animate= “1” animation_type= “none” animation_delay= “0” animation_duration= “300” border_style= ‘{“d”:”solid”,”l”:”solid”,”t”:”solid”,”m”:”solid”}’ border= ‘{“d”:””}’ border_color= “” border_radius= “” box_shadow= “0px 0px 0px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0)” key= “b7wxCAQEYl”][tatsu_row full_width= “0” bg_color= “” border_style= ‘{“d”:”solid”,”l”:”solid”,”t”:”solid”,”m”:”solid”}’ border= ‘{“d”:””}’ border_color= “” no_margin_bottom= “0” equal_height_columns= “0” gutter= “medium” column_spacing= “px” fullscreen_cols= “0” swap_cols= “0” padding= ‘{“d”:”0px 0px 0px 0px”}’ margin= ‘{“d”:”0px 0px”}’ row_id= “” row_class= “” box_shadow= “0px 0px 0px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0)” border_radius= “0” hide_in= “” animate= “1” animation_type= “none” animation_delay= “0” animation_duration= “300” layout= “1/1” key= “GOASqtTjdS”][tatsu_column bg_color= “” bg_image= “” bg_repeat= “no-repeat” bg_attachment= “scroll” bg_position= ‘{“d”:”top left”}’ bg_size= ‘{“d”:”cover”}’ padding= ‘{“d”:”0px 0px 0px 0px”}’ margin= ‘{“d”:””}’ border_style= ‘{“d”:”solid”,”l”:”solid”,”t”:”solid”,”m”:”solid”}’ border= ‘{“d”:””}’ border_color= “” border_radius= “0” box_shadow_custom= “0px 0px 0px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0)” bg_video_mp4_src= “” bg_video_ogg_src= “” bg_video_webm_src= “” overlay_color= “” overlay_blend_mode= “normal” animate_overlay= “none” link_overlay= “” vertical_align= “none” sticky= “0” offset= ‘{“d”:”0px 0px”}’ column_parallax= “0” column_width= ‘{“d”:100,”l”:100,”t”:100,”m”:100}’ column_mobile_spacing= “0” image_hover_effect= “none” column_hover_effect= “none” hover_box_shadow= “0px 0px 0px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0)” overflow= “” col_id= “” column_class= “” top_divider= “none” top_divider_height= ‘{“d”:”100″,”m”:”0″}’ top_divider_color= “#ffffff” flip_top_divider= “0” top_divider_zindex= “9999” bottom_divider= “none” bottom_divider_height= ‘{“d”:”100″,”m”:”0″}’ bottom_divider_color= “#ffffff” flip_bottom_divider= “0” bottom_divider_zindex= “9999” left_divider= “none” left_divider_width= ‘{“d”:”50″,”m”:”0″}’ left_divider_color= “#ffffff” invert_left_divider= “0” left_divider_zindex= “9999” right_divider= “none” right_divider_width= ‘{“d”:”50″,”m”:”0″}’ right_divider_color= “#ffffff” invert_right_divider= “0” right_divider_zindex= “9999” z_index= “0” hide_in= “” animate= “1” animation_type= “none” animation_delay= “0” animation_duration= “300” layout= “1/1” key= “OYdEAoxDC”][tatsu_animated_heading text= “2021 Annual School Census Launched… SIERRA LEONE IS THE ONLY COUNTRY IN AFRICA TO DIGITIZE SCHOOL CENSUS -World Bank” tag_to_use= “h3” anime_type= “anime_split_letter” text_color= ‘{“id”:”palette:0″,”color”:”#000000″}’ line_color= ‘{“id”:”palette:0″,”color”:”#000000″}’ alignment= “left” anime_duration= “20” typography= ‘{“d”:””}’ hide_in= “” css_id= “” css_classes= “” animate= “1” animation_type= “none” animation_delay= “0” animation_duration= “300” padding= ‘{“d”:””}’ margin= ‘{“d”:””}’ border_style= ‘{“d”:”solid”,”l”:”solid”,”t”:”solid”,”m”:”solid”}’ border= ‘{“d”:””}’ border_color= “” border_radius= “” box_shadow= “0px 0px 0px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0)” key= “me8DZpe9b”][/tatsu_animated_heading][tatsu_text bg_color= “” color= “” max_width= ‘{“d”:”100″}’ wrap_alignment= “center” text_alignment= ‘{“d”:”left”}’ margin= ‘{“d”:”0px 0px 30px 0px”}’ box_shadow= “0px 0px 0px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0)” padding= ‘{“d”:”0px 0px 0px 0px”}’ border_style= ‘{“d”:”solid”,”l”:”solid”,”t”:”solid”,”m”:”solid”}’ border= ‘{“d”:”0px 0px 0px 0px”}’ border_color= “” border_radius= “0px” text_typography= ‘{“d”:””}’ hide_in= “” css_id= “” css_classes= “” animate= “1” animation_type= “none” animation_delay= “0” animation_duration= “300” key= “4kJgaGlzR”]

*Schools increased by 13% from 2018-2021
*GoSL Support to schools increased by 56% from 2018-2021
*Pupil’s enrolment in schools increased by 37% from 2018-2021
*Qualified teachers increased by 11% from 2018-2021
*Over 96% of learners in public, and 88% in private schools can’t access computers

During the launch of the 2021 Annual School Census (ASC), Madam Mari Shojo, World Bank Senior Education Specialist stated that Sierra Leone is the only country in Africa to have digitized the Annual School Census and commended the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education.

The ASC Report was launched on Wednesday 24th August 2022 at the Ministry’s Conference Hall, New England Ville Freetown.
Madam Shojo reaffirmed World Bank support for data collection because the census shows the mapping of where schools are located and what are their challenges, noting that the data is very important for local partners and can be utilized globally.

While launching the ASC Report and also the application that enables the public to interact with the data, the Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Dr Moinina David Sengeh regarded the ASC Report as something he always looks forward to especially as the Chief Innovation Officer.

“Every child counts. While access, equity and completion are the prime metrics of the government in the FQSE program, more variables need to be monitored and tracked. Our objective is to increase the number of children getting access to school irrespective of location, disability, economic status, cultural practice etc. building and refurbishing schools; providing teaching and learning materials and furniture; supporting school feeding in pre-primary and primary schools in 14 districts; fees/subsidies paid to schools; and the payment of examination fees for all public exams to the West African Examination Council (WAEC). Government has developed and approved the radical inclusion policy to give access to all including pregnant schoolgirls and children with disabilities,” he said.

The Director of Policy and Planning Madam Adama Momoh said the ASC report gives an analysis and interpretation to inform national understanding of trends in school development and enrolment growth, numeracy, retention, literacy, transition and multi-level performance.
She said this also informs the actions to support the free quality school education program in the distribution of teaching and learning materials, furniture, payment of fees/subsidies to schools, providing school feeding and the general growth path.

“This census is conducted in collaboration with professional and technical institutions with proven capacities to handle large-scale data collection and processing. Statistics Sierra Leone, the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) and Local Councils played key roles in the data collection process together with the Teaching Service Commission and Civil Society Organizations to ensure credibility in the data production,” she said.

While chairing the event, the Chief Education Officer (CEO) Professor Yatta Kanu regarded the ASC report as one of the most important documents coming from the ministry, noting that it is the most referenced document by MBSSE partners.
According to her, the report is very good for a ministry that prides itself on radical inclusion, and commended the team for putting together the document.

Trend analysis of the ASC between 2018 and 2021 depicts the number of schools has increased by 13 per cent from 10,747 schools in 2018 to 12,168 schools in 2021. The number of schools approved to operate as schools increased by 78 per cent between 2018 and 2021 from 4,872 to 8,676 schools. Also, public schools receiving financial and material support from the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL), increased by 56 per cent between 2018 and 2021 from 4,387 to 6,829 schools.
Pupil’s enrolment in schools over the last four years had increased by 37 per cent from 1,982,475 pupils to 3,131,440 pupils between 2018 and 2021. Girls’ enrolment in schools has continued to increase at all levels and has almost drawn parity with boys’ enrolment at the senior secondary school level.

Further, the trend of classroom registered teachers in schools between 2018 and 2021 has shown a steady regularization of teacher roll. The number of teachers in classrooms had decreased by 8 per cent from 87,625 teachers in 2018 to 80,744 teachers in 2021 due to a direct policy intervention that removed ‘ghost’ teachers from the payroll. At the same time, the number of qualified teachers in schools has increased by 11 per cent between 2018 and 2021 from 48,560 to 53,885. The increase in pupils’ enrolment during this period is not linear with the increment in teacher numbers leading to an increasing pupils to teacher ratio and also pupils to qualified teacher ratio.

Other key findings of the 2021 ASC: a total of 12,168 schools across the country were enumerated with 3,131,440 pupils enrolled and 80,744 teachers. Out of the 12,168 schools covered in the ASC, more than two-thirds of them are public schools 10,124 (83.3%) compared to private schools 2,044 (16.7%). More than half of the schools (7,429) in Sierra Leone, accounting for 61.0% are primary schools, followed by pre-primary schools 1,984 (16.3%), 1,931 Junior Secondary Schools (15.7%) and 824 Senior Secondary schools (6.7%).

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The Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) has engaged the Chairman of Council of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) Professor Ato Essuman, Registrar Mr Pateh Bah on reforms in the subregion, the opportunities of having a change in curriculum, the dignity of the examination among other issues.

The WAEC Regional leadership is in Sierra Leone based on the invitation of the Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education Dr Moinina David Sengeh.
A closed-door session with the Minister, WAEC Chairman and Registrar of about one-hour conservation was held in the minister’s office before the meeting with other members in the MBSSE Conference Hall New England Ville, Freetown on Tuesday 22nd August 2022.

Highlighting the Ministry’s concerns, Dr Sengeh calls on WAEC to fast-track the recruitment of the WAEC Head of National Office in Sierra Leone, noting that the recruitment process started over a year ago and calls on the regional leadership to update MBSSE on how far they have gone with the process.

“Before the introduction of the result checker, students usually take weeks to know their examination results, but with the platform, they can now access their results through SMS. This is what the radical inclusion policy is about. Sincerely, the result checker and placement is the most transforming story of the government. The platform recorded over 200,000 users just after the release of the National Primary School Examination (NPSE),” he said.

The Minister commends WAEC for providing access to the result, noting that as a ministry MBSSE will keep pushing for more collaboration with WAEC. He apologized on behalf of Sierra Leone for accumulating the annual payment to WAEC for over ten years, noting that he will engage the concerned ministries in ensuring that they come up with a payment plan.

He however stated that the Ministry has already paid for NPSE, BECE and also sent the cheque to the bank for the payment of WASSCE.

“I want us (Sierra Leone) to host a high-level meeting with WAEC and ministers of WAEC member countries. A lot needs to be discussed ranging from assessment, curriculum among others,” he said.

Chairman of the Council of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) Professor Ato Essuman said WAEC is now 70 years old, so the call made by the Minister is very much time as they consider their 70 years of existence as reflection time and issues of reform are very much welcome.

He said WAEC would discuss it with the other countries so that they can buy into it.

Speaking on examination malpractice, he said the education sector in the different countries has a whole lot of responsibility because examinations are being held in their schools, noting that Sierra Leone remains the only country that is printing their question papers out of the country, he stressed the need for WAEC National Office to have their own printer as that will limit the leakage of question papers.
The Registrar Mr Bah noted that they will be pleased to see examinations results are released even before the stipulated 45 days period, but the past couple of years, they are challenged because the number of students that are taking the WASSCE has increased significantly.
He calls on the government to ensure that the government stops older candidates that are only joining schools to take the WAEC, adding that those candidates should go in for the private WASSCE as they are of equal significance.
On making the softcopy of the WASSCE result available for analysis and also for result checker, he said there is still an opportunity for dialogue, noting that WAEC feed on the fund they get from selling scratch cards for sustenance and if withdrawn, that will make WAEC less effective.

The Chief Education Officer at the MBSSE Professor Yatta Kanu welcomed the Chairman of Council and Registrar for their maiden visit to Sierra Leone, noting that the ministry will continue its good working relationship with the WAEC.
She calls on WAEC to regulate the sales of scratch cards as business people are buying huge amounts at Le 30,000 and selling at very high prices.

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Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1997 to 2007, Sir Tony Blair has stated that Sierra Leone and Rwanda are strong examples for countries to emulate how technology can be used to get learning back on track.

In a webinar with Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education and Chief Innovation Officer, Dr David Moinina Sengeh, and Minister of Information and Communications Technology and Innovation in Rwanda, madam Paula Ingabire, moderated the founder and chief operations officer ada learning, madam Léa Steinacker as moderator, the former British Prime Minister stated:
“We have got – if you don’t mind me saying – two of the most able ministers on the African continent here with us … Both of them are people who understand the technology and understand how they might utilize it. It’s important to say that a lot of governments … don’t understand and frankly, they are deeply suspicious of technology… The World Education Service will build up real practical examples” of how technology can accelerate the process of change in education he said.

He made this statement on Thursday, 28 July 2022 during a webinar on how technology has the potential to supercharge global education efforts.

“One thing I have noticed … is that the Presidents and Prime Ministers we are working with are much more attuned to what technology can do. So I have a quite different quality of conversation around things like data, and data infrastructure and data centres than I did four or five years ago … the best thing to do … is by example. By saying, look, this is what Sierra Leone or Rwanda are doing, this is how they have done it, and you can do it too, it is not that complicated,” he said.

The Former British Prime Minister said education is the great liberator, noting that without access to education there is no access to opportunity. Explaining how technology can bridge the gap in learning, he said technology helps support education with access, quality and at a cheaper cost.
According to Dr Sengeh, there are three concrete steps that should be taken in order for technology to be used to improve learning outcomes and they are; 1) think open source, create together and share 2) think radical inclusion and build equity, noting that technology must drive equity and should not be seen as something that further creates a gap, 3) and finally, the world should think hybrid to ensure that all learners get access to quality education. Finally, he stated, “Let’s accelerate toward SDG-4 and let’s transform education.”

Minister Sengeh highlighted the gains Sierra Leone has made in using technology to improve access to education, ensure quality and reduce the cost of education. He specifically talked about the result checker, the placement checker, the digital dictionary, the learning passport and the education radio that offer free distance teaching to many households.

Sir Tony Blair serves as Executive Chairman of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. He set up the Institute to support leaders and governments, and he draws on his deep experience from his time in government. He has mobilised the Institute’s 450+ staff in more than 20 countries across four continents to promote global coordination and help governments confront Covid-19 and respond to other critical challenges related to policy, delivery and leveraging technology.
The global education crisis is real and urgent. Today, over 258 million children and young people are out of school and one in seven 10-year-olds in low and middle-income countries struggle to read a simple text. Without radical action, we won’t even come close to achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal 4.

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The Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE), Dr David Moinina Sengeh has committed to providing one tablet to each traditional leader in the Western Area Urban and Rural to enhance effective and efficient education monitoring.  

This was disclosed in a dialogue session with the chiefs at MBSSE on Friday, 29th  July 2022 at the MBSSE Conference Hall, New England Ville, Freetown.  

The discussions centred on the role of traditional rulers in promoting inclusive education, reducing teenage pregnancy in communities, promoting girl child education, promoting oversight of education sector projects and activities, strengthening the School Management Committee (SMC), Boards of Governors and Community Teachers Associations (CTA), effective monitoring of teachers and pupils attendance, effective use of teaching and learning materials in schools, reducing Out-of-School Children, addressing School Related Gender Based Violence and sustainability of the school feeding programme. 

Dr Moinina David Sengeh emphasized that education cannot be reformed without the involvement of community leaders, noting that this is the beginning of further engagements.  

He highlighted some of the things the government has done to improve learning outcomes in the country.  

Minister Sengeh said Government has been able to get this far because they invested in education, noting that government pays the full bill for school fees in public schools and pays the examination fees for nearly all students. In addition, they have hired more than 12,000 teachers, increased all teachers’ salaries on three occasions and doubled down on continuous professional development.  

He said the government has invested in new teaching and learning materials and school feeding programmes, noting that the government believes that children must have access to nutritious meals for learning and holistic development.  “Furthermore, we innovated. For example, we introduced digital, SMS-based learning tools, including a free SMS dictionary. Students can now check their exam results and school placement on their phones for next to nothing instead of waiting for the paper results to travel to their schools. Our digital tools have been used millions of times. Just recently, we introduced the Learning Passport that gives students access to past exam papers. On the first day it was downloaded 4,000 times,” he said. 

The Secretary General of the Council of Tribal Head in the Western Area, Chief Mathew Young underscored the importance of the dialogue session to them as traditional leaders, noting that they’ve been part of many engagements on education but this is the first time they have been called by a serving Government minister.  He said the schools are in the communities and engaging the traditional leader is the way to go. 

He commended the minister for what he has been doing to improve on learning outcomes in the country, like the introduction of scratch cards and the timely release of public examination results compared to what was obtained before.  The one-day session, supported by the Free Education Project Secretariat (FEPS) of MBSSE, ended with a comprehensive roadmap on the full involvement of traditional leaders, particularly Tribal Heads in the monitoring of project implementation activities in their localities.

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President of the Republic of Sierra Leone Dr Julius Maada Bio as Co-Chair of the Sustainable Development Goal-4 (SDG4) High-Level Steering Committee during the segment consisting of Ministerial and Stakeholder engagement has emphasized during his opening remark that education is not a privilege, but a fundamental human right.

The Transforming Education Pre‐Summit is organized in Paris from 28‐30 June 2022. A Global Engagement Day on 28 June included technical meetings on Thematic Action Tracks and engagements with key stakeholders and this was Co-Chaired by Sierra Leone’s Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education Dr Moinina David Sengeh.

“The COVID-19 pandemic and the current global economic crises have further amplified the severe education funding gap. We must therefore use this Pre-Summit strategically to rally all forces behind the call for inclusive quality education and lifelong learning for all. We do so because education is not a privilege; it is a fundamental human right,” President Bio said.
He calls on all to collectively advocate that education is not a cost but an investment in the sustainable future of their societies, children, and the planet, adding that the cost of inaction is simply not acceptable and they must therefore assume collective responsibility for taking resolute action for education.
“We must stay focused on using the opportunity offered by the Transforming Education Summit to position education at the top of the political agenda of member states. We can do so with concrete commitments supported by strong political will at the highest levels,” he said.

As Co-Chair of the SDG4 High-Level Steering Committee, President Bio assures all that the Steering Committee stands ready to fully support, monitor, and carry forward the impetus created by the Summit.
I thank her for UNESCO’s exemplary leadership and tireless efforts in advancing Sustainable Development Goal-4.

According to President Bio, the most vulnerable, most marginalized, and most disadvantaged learners count on education stakeholders to deliver on implementing SDG 4 by 2030, so it is their collective responsibility to call for immediate and bold action towards that end.

He said education is a driving force for sustainable development, noting that it is a powerful lever for responding to some of the most pressing challenges faced by humanity including climate change, migration, youth unemployment, healthcare, and peaceful and just societies.

He said it is also a cross-cutting accelerator for the advancement of all the other SDGs, noting that any integrated, holistic, multi-sectoral approach to sustainable development must include education.

“The HLSC’s Urgent Call for Action is a call to Heads of State and Government to invest in and transform education as the clearest pathway to our shared goals of peace, prosperity, sustainability, and building resilience,” he said.

The overall objective of the Pre‐Summit is to harness the evolving discussions on transforming education, elaborate initial content and establish a shared vision and suggested actions for the Summit, and generate greater momentum in the lead-up to September.

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