BY AMADU S. BAH
232NEWS, FREETOWN
Last Friday 17th November, 2023, the Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Conrad Sackey hosted the Ambassador of the United States America to Sierra Leone, Bryan David Hunt, where they discussed issues around the development of the educational sector.
The meeting was held at the Ministry’s headquarters, New England Ville. The meeting was also attended by the MBSSE Permanent Secretary, Brima Kebbie and the Embassy’s Economic Counsellor, Ms. Chole Combes.
Making his remark, Ambassador Hunt expressed USA’s desire to see the Minister and the government succeed in shaping the minds of its citizens through education.
He stated that education is critical to every country’s long-term development plan. More importantly, the USA Ambassador reaffirmed America’s support to the government and the people of Sierra Leone, stating that the USA government will continue to give technical support and will endeavor to aid the Government of Sierra Leone on the implementation of the Free Quality School Education.
Welcoming the USA Ambassador, Minister Sackey started by expressing the Ministry’s profound gratitude to the Government of USA for their continued support to Sierra Leone, especially in the area of education.
He further explained that since 2018 when President Bio introduced the Free Quality School Education, there has been significant increase in the number of learners in schools across the country.
In the same vein, he noted that there has been great improvement in the number of students achieving the entry requirements to University.
He explained that the government had introduced a new Education Act, the Basic and Senior Secondary Act of 2022 and developed a new Education Sector Act to strengthen the operations of the Ministry which is complemented by a Zero Learning Poverty and a Zero Out of School Strategic Plans.
Speaking on the status of the sector in Sierra Leone, Minister Sackey explained that through the Ministry’s Radical Inclusion policy and implementation plan, significant progress have been made to improve the learning outcomes and transitions rates of vulnerable children, especially the girl-child, disabled, pregnant parent-leaners and those living in remote areas.
Minister Sackey also pointed out that there are still a number of challenges facing the Ministry. He underscored classroom shortages to accommodate the increase in new learners to the system and shortage of skilled teachers to teach skills shortage areas such as those in Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture and Mathematics (STEAM) and logistical challenges in monitoring 12,000 schools.
Ambassador Hunt shared his experience of interacting with key education stakeholders across the country. He went on to promise that he will be in touch with the Ministry with possible areas of intervention in 2025.
