By Ragan M. Conteh
In a bid to clean-up and address the over blotted number of students sent to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary School subsidy payrolls by heads of schools across the country, Ministry of Education authorities have disclosed their intention to commence head count of all pupils and students in various Primary, Junior and Senior secondary schools across the nation.
They made the disclosure on Saturday 28th September 2019 at the ongoing budget presentation at the Miatta Conference Center in Freetown.
National Program Coordinator, Free Quality School Education, Amara Sowa, has stated that one of the challenges the Ministry of Education is faced with, is the over blotted and ghost students received from school authorities by the Ministry for the payment of school subsidies.
Amara Sowa stated that over the years, such alarming ghost students cost government billions of Leones.
The Ministry, according to Mr. Sowa, will implement head count in schools and that defaulting schools will be reprimanded and prosecuted.
Delivering the budget presentation to the technical team from Finance Ministry, CSO, NSA, CBOs and other relevant stakeholders, the Director of Education, Adama Momoh stated that the Ministry of Education requires over Le 627 billion for the Ministry’s activities for the year 2020.
This budget, she noted, will strengthen education as well as ensure more enrolment of students into schools.
The Ministry of Education has budgeted for the School Feeding Secretariat Le80.3 billion.