By Ibrahim Joenal Sesay
FREETOWN, Oct. 3 (232News) – The Executive Director of Community Action to Restore Lives (CARL), Madiana N.B. Samba has called on the government of Sierra Leone to use public aid money for quality education.
Madam Samba made this called during a press conference at CARL head office in Freetown to commemorate the International Literacy Day (ILD) which was celebrated on the 8th September with the theme, “Literacy for a human centered recovery: narrowing the digital divide.”
“Government resources should not be spending on private sector, it should be the reverse.”
She went on to say that they need to make sure that all children are in school and that is the right time for them to do the campaign.
“When you have quality education, you narrow the poverty gap. We want to make private schools optional, if we have enough structures, qualified teachers among others.”
Madam Samba however said that one has the right to send his or her child to private school but because of the high charges is what they are concerned about.
She said the objective of the Education Campaign Spike is principally looking at the rights to quality public education for all children in Sierra Leone and calling on the regulation of private schools, which when not regulated widens inequalities in education.
The Education Campaign Spike makes provision for issues like the high fees in private schools, quality education, domestic financing, quality in fees and other related issues to be addressed. The campaign makes it an obligation for government schools to be prioritized and private schools to be accessible to all with affordable school fees with the fact that the government of Sierra Leone supports them.
Some of their findings including, inequality research conducted unearthed many educational inequalities, which captured private school education and domestic financing on private school as one of the forms of inequalities in education.
Hon. Tshmobe spoke about the 22% budget allocated on education by the government which he said was the biggest in the history of education in the country.
He recalled how they inherited an educational system that was not structure, no curriculum and syllabus for schools.
“We took responsibility for payment of fees and other activities.”
He said because of the value they added in the education drive, there are not enough structures which has resulted in overcrowding in government and government assisted schools.
“We alone as a Government can’t provide all that is require for education, our basic budget will not be enough for us to support education, we need support from others.”
Hon. Tshmobe pointed out that they have four principal pillars which include: Radical inclusion, Quality and access to basic education and Universal safety.
He said private schools must not take advantage of the lapses as there has not been any regulatory policy by the government for them.
“The learning atmospheres are not conducive for some private schools. MBSSE is working on policy to regulate the private schools because every man needs to be regulated and they must cooperate. As a Government we need to fast track the policy.”
He said the regulation will not only limited on fees but include location, structures among other facilities.
