Colonial education was instituted in Sierra Leone as a consequence of the activities of British philanthropic and missionary bodies from the late 19th to mid 20th century. It was largely in the hands of Christian missionaries introduced in the form of evangelism and as part of Western missionary enterprise. Such education basically ignored the achievements and contributions of the indigenous populations and for the most part, did not cultivate the African student's self-esteem and pride. The author gives details of policies, programmes and statistical outcomes. It is important, particularly for policy makers, as it may serve as input to the debate on future education policy development and has the potential for contributing to research literature on implementation of educational policies. Sierra Leoneans should access the previously lacking and relevant knowledge of the development of education during the fifty years of Independence, as presented in this book. As such, it will also be a valuable resource for college and university lecturers.

After a decade-long civil war, Sierra Leone witnessed an unprecedented surge in school enrollments at the primary and then the secondary levels. Committed to the Education for All objectives, the government further encouraged greater access to school. The country must now negotiate the transition from postwar recovery to regular delivery of education services. The main tasks ahead include reaching the remaining out-of-school children and improving the quality of the learning environment and, ultimately, of learning outcomes. Success will depend on the unrelenting, strong commitment of the government, the capacity of providers to effectively deliver education services, and a sustainable financial framework. This report uses the latest census, survey, and administrative data to explore the current status of the education sector. It emphasises the needs of the poor, as well as the elimination of disparities across regions, between urban and rural areas, and between boys and girls. It also lays an analytical foundation for the preparation of a long-term strategy for the education sector.

After a decade-long civil war, Sierra Leone witnessed an unprecedented surge in school enrollments at the primary and then the secondary levels. Committed to the Education for All objectives, the government further encouraged greater access to school. The country must now negotiate the transition from postwar recovery to regular delivery of education services. The main tasks ahead include reaching the remaining out-of-school children and improving the quality of the learning environment and, ultimately, of learning outcomes. Success will depend on the unrelenting, strong commitment of the government, the capacity of providers to effectively deliver education services, and a sustainable financial framework.

Mastering Business Administration in Education and African Politics (the Sierra Leone Chapter) This is a revised and improved edition of your book, and as I have already been told, it is quite up-to-date with far more relevant information that address education, educational business, and political issues in Africa in particular, and how these are disturbing educational developments, especially in sub-Sahara and also with suggestions for improvements. According to Mohan Kaul, the co-chairman of Commonwealth Business Council, giving the challenges ahead, governments have realized that it is beyond their capacity and means to achieve the task of improving education for all. However, Patrick Dlamini, Chief Executive of Development Bank of South Africa, sited what has gone wrong with sudden growth of private schooling outside state control. The government is having problems of retaining seasoned teachers. Private schooling is poaching the best of brains from the public schooling system, and the government is left with poor-quality teaching and inexperienced teachers because now the private sector has taken the crme de la crme. How do you balance that? But business is business, and business is about getting the customers what they want and satisfying them most. If African governments are unable to provide what people prefer most, people have the right to choose from existing alternatives so that they can spend their hard earnings on what they want and what can satisfy them most as long as they have the ability and willingness to pay for them. That is the dictation of free-market philosophy. Mohamed Sannoh, Methodist Boys High School, Kissy Mess Mess, Freetown.

"Many countries all over the world are struggling to achieve for all. As part of such effort, they have strategized to provide universal primary education which normally refers to the enrollment of all school age children in primary schools, namely achieving one hundred percent of the net enrollment. While such efforts have been realized in many developing countries, it is a major challenge in most developing countries, especially in Africa following the attainment of independence. This book focuses on the influence of donor agencies in setting for the development of education in Africa leading to the preliminary interventions by different African English countries through the provision of free primary education. It is noted that most of the countries which introduced fee remission through free primary education experienced massive enrollments as many children from disadvantaged groups took advantage of the policy intervention to send their children to school. However, the push for it came to be identified with increasing deterioration in the quality of primary education right from the provision of physical facilities, teaching and learning materials, deployment of teachers, performance and transition from primary to secondary education. The quality of infrastructure and teaching and learning materials were in a deplorable state, especially in the rural areas, where such enrollments were well above the official recommended number of pupils per classroom. It proceeds to provide an interesting and easy to read accounts of the development of universal primary education in selected countries analyzing successes and challenges. Among the key challenges identified in the implementation of the UPE policy include; the lack of adequate planning, financing, inadequate infrastructure, and the HIV/AIDS scourge. On the basis of the above challenges, it is important that policy measures are put in place to improve the quality of primary education in many countries"--

This book is intended to serve as an introduction to Sierra Leone and its people. Sierra Leone is one of the oldest countries which were created by Europeans in Africa. Its history is also one of the most tragic. Although the land and the people are the focus of this work, other aspects of Sierra Leone are also examined to get a comprehensive picture of the country. The book should help many foreigners to learn some basic facts about the country, especially if they want to go to Sierra Leone.

Under various names – education and conflict, education and fragility, education and insecurity, etc – the understanding of linkages between education and violent conflict has emerged as an important and pressing area of inquiry. Work and research by practitioners and scholars has clearly pointed to the negative potential of education to contribute to and entrench violent conflict. This work has highlighted the struggle for education during and following periods of instability and demonstrated the degree to which communities affected by conflict prioritize educational opportunities. It has also offered powerful normative arguments for the importance of quality education for peacebuilding, reconciliation, postconflict reconstruction and development. In many instances, however, these important insights are derived less from rigorous research and scholarship in the social sciences than from the delivery and evaluation of educational programming in situations affected by conflict. This volume, therefore, seeks to broaden enquiry into education and conflict by exploring, through conceptual and empirical work, its linkages to broader theories and practices of development and peacebuilding. The volume begins with a conceptual and theoretical section, followed by a series of international case studies, before closing with three chapters focused on the case of Northern Uganda. Contributors present a diverse set of studies that together deepen understandings of the ways the education functions in various situations affected by conflict and the ways in which it might best be mobilized to contribute towards peacebuilding and development.

This book investigates gender equality and women’s empowerment in Sierra Leone, focusing especially on women’s interactions with the state and its development partners. In particular, it highlights women’s increasing agency in acquiring knowledge, diffusing power, engaging in grassroots politics, and compelling the government to adopt more gender-responsive policies. Exploiting extensive fieldwork and original multidisciplinary research methods (including econometric and statistical models), the book first sets out the history and impact of inequality in Sierra Leone, and then goes on to shed light on the constructive and collaborative engagement of women and the state on a variety of local and external strategies for promoting gender equality. Drawing throughout on insights from across gender studies, sociology, anthropology, economics, and political science, the book highlights how women are succeeding in transforming marginality into agency in order to build a platform for influencing change. By qualifying and quantifying the challenges of gender inequality in Sierra Leone, and the progress that is being made, this book provides important insights that will be relevant to other fragile, post-conflict states within Africa. The book will be of interest to students and researchers studying women and gender studies, African studies, economics, international development, sociology, and political science and international relations. It will also deepen policymakers’ and practitioners’ understanding of women’s diverse trajectories and experiences, and how the typology of government affects the patterns of inequality and equality.

This book contains ten chapters and constitutes an attempt to discuss some of the key areas of governance in the country. This text posits three main arguments: First, that promoting democratic good governance in Sierra Leone is an imperative that should be embarked upon (by any government) if it is to ensure socioeconomic and political development on the one hand and peace and security on the other. Second, that the process of promoting democratic good governance will not be an easy task, and this is why any government should strive to be vigilant and extricate the country from dependence; the fact remains that a successful good governance environment in Sierra Leone will depend on economic development. Third, that governance should be not only enhanced through ensuring adequate capacity but also constantly monitored, and it should be a permanent phenomenon. The need to strengthen links between and among the government, civil society, and the private sector cannot be overemphasized; this is necessary to ensure the dynamism that should characterize a good governance environment. This environment should include a new Sierra Leonean psyche: that of the interests of the state first, anchored in attitudinal and behavioral change. In this book, the author also attempts to determine how far Sierra Leone has gone in its practice of democratic good governance and the challenges it is facing in trying to do so. He also makes recommendations on how these challenges could be surmounted.

This paper explains Sierra Leone’s completion point under the Enhanced Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and debt relief under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI). With enhanced HIPC and MDRI assistance, Sierra Leone will achieve a debt profile below the HIPC threshold. Assurances have been obtained regarding participation in the enhanced HIPC Initiative from creditors representing more than 81 percent of the relief to be provided. The sensitivity analysis shows that Sierra Leone’s external debt sustainability could be jeopardized by adverse shocks and financing on nonconcessional terms.