By Hassan Osman Kargbo
Sierra Leone at 63 years of Independence, and what have we achieved so? On 27th April 1961, Sierra Leone’s first prime minister Dr Sir Milton Margai, spoke to the people of Sierra Leone about the kind of nation they should expect in the coming years, after gaining independence from Britain, and what it would take to get there. Our first prime Minister was optimistic about the future of Sierra Leone and predicted that our Nation could raise to the test of time, but it’s 63 years now since then, there’s nothing good to write home about.
There was euphoria, hope and promise. The people of Sierra Leone looked forward to a brigher and better future, being able to govern themselves, feed themselves, and provide for all of their basic needs as well as continue to be the Athens of West Africa through its excellent education institutions. But, oo no! We are still crapping to achieve our basic amenities like food, light, education, water and many more.
Others nations like, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and Rwandan are all far away with development, but it’s a different situation in Sierra Leone. These countries are ahead of Sierra Leone in different sectors and for Rwandan, they had their genocide, also known as the genocide against thez Tutsi, occurred between 7 April and 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. Despite the genocide, they’re also one of the developing countries in Africa, but Sierra Leone is now 63 years without any signs of development.
Also, Like for Uganda, the country formally achieved its independence from the United Kingdom and became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations (CON) on October 9, 1952, whereas
Our nation is 63 and we still finding it difficult to feed ourselves. The area of education is going down the drain on a daily basis! Sierra Leone has been known as the Anthem of West Africa where other nations usually comes to acquire Education, but The impact of a bad education regime has started haunting our nation. It’s not a secret that in Sierra Leone, many high school pupils can’t write and or speak properly without someone aiding them. And the revelation of sex for grade and bribery for grade at High school and other Tertiary Institutions has been the order of the day. The issue of sex for grade and bribery for grade scandal is characteristic of many Tertiary learning institutions in our country. We had seen successful government tried to ease the issue of education but it seems like they had been beating a dead horse.
Moreover, to maintain the Education standard in the country, Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio’s declared a free, quality education for primary and secondary school children, and many at home and abroad has applauded the vision of the President.
This provision, which came into force in September 2019 and is however failing the most vulnerable children whom the system was supposed to liberate from hard labour, destitution and impoverishment. However, despite the free quality education in the country, we are still seeing a lot of street children selling cold water and other things in the country just to survive with their families.
Education for many especially in developing countries , is a clear route out of the acute poverty they find themselves. It has been a great tool for developing the intellectual capabilities of citizens and countries alike. But, in Sierra Leone, we are seeing some educated people who are still struggling for basic livelihood.
However, there has been a considerable rise in the level of dropouts/failures particularly within the secondary and university education system. In the recent West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results for instance, it is estimated that 95 percent of students in Sierra Leone failed to obtain the necessary grades needed to successfully enrol on a university programme.
This has stirred a huge debate among citizens as to the root cause(s) of such a poor performance when compared with other countries within the sub-region. One side of the debate blames the students with specific reference to their cheating culture and lackadaisical approach to their studies whilst others blame the staff and institutions. Sierra Leone is now 63 years after Independent and our education is still not matched to the international standard. Where have we gone wrong?
As a part of the remedy, we have seen the last time, the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission publicly naming and shaming some of the teachers involved in exams malpractices. But, is it the right thing to do? Because despite the intervention of ACC we are still seeing a lot of malpractice in the country.
Meanwhile, to understand the root cause of our failing educational system since Independent, we will need to dive a little down into history.
Precolonial days, there was no formalised form of education system; people learnt through apprenticeships with storytelling and observations being the most form of pedagogical methods. Rituals and festivals were also used to teach the younger folks about taking responsibilities for themselves and community.
In this informal setting, people mostly learnt practical skills like cooking, dancing, carving of masks and stools, wine making, farming etc. Dipo which is a famous ritual was for instance used to teach young girls about cooking and general skills that will help them through womanhood.
Then came the colonial period which officially ended the informal nature of African’s education system. The colonists came with one agenda: to extort the natural resources of its colonies. As such there was no need to educate and train members of its colonies as the primary focus was on using labour to do the hard core jobs that met their agendas.
At present, We have children who work on the streets as hawkers, stone-breakers and beggars. They are the very children who are supposed to be at the heart of the programme. In Freetown, there are CSO who record labouring children on stone-breaking sites. Just to let the government know that people are still lacking quality education in the country. Sierra Leone a country of 8 million people on the West African Seaboard had one of the highest economic growth rates in the world. After emerging from an 11-year civil war in 2002, the country was rebuilding its governance and economy with the help of international donors. And 63 years after Independent, our nation is still battling with basic stuffs.
This issue is seeing everywhere in the country, Poverty is valuable. Rural poverty is widespread in Sierra Leone. Nationwide three-quarters of people live in poverty, and a quarter cannot afford a basic diet, good education for all. Poor housing and health, high infant and maternal mortality, high illiteracy, limited access to clean water and very low incomes are also commonplace, especially among woman-headed households, landless young people, and small-scale farmers. As a result productivity is low.
We are now at 63 and we still need a lot. Sierra Leone is a nation that’s blessed with a lot of riches, yet the citizens are sleeping with hunger. The government really need to set the bar high if only they want to improve the lives of the people in Sierra Leone.
