By Mitchealla Kai-Samba
232news
The Executive Chairman for The National Council for Civic Education and Development (NaCCED), Kalilu Totangi, in an interview with SALONE TIMES has expressed determination in ensuring that the vision of President Julius Maada Bio for civic education be realised.
NaCCED is a national institution committed to deepening democracy and good governance, and promoting national cohesion and sustainable development, through civic education and development communication, civic engagement and community mobilization and knowledge management.
Kalilu Totangi, said that since their establishment by President Julius Maada Bio in 2018, they have been steadfast in ensuring that civic education is taught and learnt in schools and it will be a standalone subject in all schools across the country.
He said that it was in that light that they developed a curriculum and syllabus that is published by the Ministry of Basic and Senior School education. He added that they have published seven (7) textbooks (Civics for Sierra Leone) for pupils from class 1 to JSS 3. Teachers have also been trained to teach Civics and the subject is now a standalone subject for 2 periods a week in all schools.
Despite their challenges, the organization has been transformed from a one-man institution to over twenty. The organisation has been able to help in other areas like community engagement in which they recently they held meetings with bike riders, the Police and other community stakeholders to dialogue about the issues between the bike riders and the police. At the end of the session, both bike rides and police officers were able to understand each other’s role and promised to do the right thing to ensure peace and safety in the country as they have been in quarrels for a long time. An agreement concerning the central business district, the dos and don’ts of traffic in the country was made.
Totangi also said that they were involved in the civil registration process by bringing all the political leaders together in parliament to join in pronouncing that registration is a responsibility for all citizens and that they should register so that they can vote for their candidate. This message was done through text messages, jingles and community announcements to remind people to register. He said that they also went out to monitor the registration process to ensure that people have a clear path towards the process. The goal behind civic education is for people to have better understanding about their surroundings to ensure that facts are not mistaken with rumours and they are firm in promoting it as civic education is a key element in every country.
