The land of John Thorpe, J.B. Horton, Adjai Crowther, Davidson Nicol and others is today in the bottom rungs of the global education index. It was during the days of these erudite men that Sierra Leone roared in Sub-Saharan Africa referring to is as the ‘Athens of West Africa.’ In the 19th century, Sierra Leone had the best of everything in education, but has lost such enviable as years passed by.
Although Sierra Leone allocates 22% of its annual national budget to education, the result is not yet encouraging. The latest ranking by CWRU )Centre of World University Ranking) mentioned no university in Sierra Leone. Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology came first and second respectively closely followed by Stanford, Oxford and Cambridge universities in the UK.
University of Sierra Leone, Njala University, University of Makeni and Ernest Bai Koroma University and others are absent in the list. This means Sierra Leone has a long way to go if it is to properly position itself in the academic roadmap. Although Sierra Leone’s education is fraught with several challenges, this is the first time for the country to miss out on a global ranking.
Although CWUR does not show the yardsticks used to rate the universities, the features must revolve around the quality of the products, the colleges’ facilities and the universities’ contribution to national development. Many Sierra Leoneans attributed the absence of Sierra Leonean universities in the world ranking to the fake degree syndrome. The Dominion University saga exposed the malfeasance taking place in several universities in the country.
The fake degree saga started in 2021 when an unrecognised and unaccredited university known as Dominion University awarded counterfeit certificates on prominent Sierra Leoneans including ex-Inspector-General of Police, Ambrose Michael Sovula. Another important personality, Director of Operations at the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank (SLCB) also got the fake degrees from Dominion University.
Academic authorities in Sierra Leone were bitterly shocked by the Dominion saga. In a press conference called by the University of Sierra Leone, former Dean of Arts faculty, Professor (emeritus), Joe A.D. said the fake degree syndrome would badly affect Sierra Leone in years to come. He also apportioned some blame to Sierra Leoneans who took part in the process. “If it were WASSCE (West African Senior School Certificate Examination) pupils graduating under a Mango tree, I would understand. But, university students, I would not accept it,” he said.
He made specific reference to the Operations Director at SLCB for taking part in such an ignominious deal. Subsequent investigations conducted by education authorities also showed that a huge number of government officials have fake degrees, but they still serve in the public service. The Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Clerk of Parliament, Head of the Civil Service Training School and others were accused of possessing fake papers.
Most government officials got their degrees from the African graduate University (AGU), an institution that is unrecognised and unaccredited. African Graduate University is fake and any paper awarded there is fake. Some Sierra Leonean colleges were registered to offer only diploma and certificate courses, but they later conferred degrees on the students without recourse to the Ministry of Education for proper accreditation.
UNIMTEC (University of Advanced Management and Technology) formerly Institute of Advanced Management and Technology (IAMTECH) was singled out as one of those universities that did not go through the required registration procedures. It only did so when it was transformed into a university. Initially, it was registered to confer diploma and certificates and not degrees.
St Clements college which was illegally operating in Sierra Leone was banned at one point in time. The fake degree syndrome is a conspicuous and indelible stain on Sierra Leone. It will negatively impact on the university rating for years. Little wonder that Sierra Leone is still in the doldrums of poverty and under-development. What appeared at face value as an education revolution In sierra Leone has turned out to be a disaster. In 2018, President Julius Maada Bio assured Sierra Leoneans of Free Quality Education at all levels.
There will be quality in primary and secondary schools as well as tertiary institutions. Since the people were convinced that it is only education that can develop a nation, they voted in Bio to realise the all-important objective. But, five years down the line, nothing tangible has been achieved. Graduates turned out by the universities and colleges cannot deliver the necessary services.
The mediocrity began in primary and secondary schools before they enter universities. They are usually referred to as ‘dead-on-arrivals’ when they seek enrollment in colleges as they gained nothing throughout their six years of learning in secondary schools. They go through their stages of learning by way of various forms of exam malpractices.
The malpractices manifest themselves during public exams especially WASSCE. The Anti-Corruption Commission Crack Squad has made several arrest of WASSCE candidates during exams. No one knows how those cases end in court. The poor terms and conditions of service for teachers and lecturers constitute another side of the story. In Sierra Leone, teachers and lecturers have to stage protests before they catch government’s attention.
The syndrome still continues.In spite of the whooping sum of money allocated to education, teachers in Sierra Leone including principals do not earn Le3m (US$150) a month. Even lecturers similarly wallow in similar conditions of abject poverty. During the triennial conference of Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) in November 2021, a high court Judge who was a teacher for 20 years spoke about the worst conditions which have been prevailing in the teaching service since the 1980s.
Justice Monfred Sesay said he lost his job at one point in time while he was championing the cause for good conditions of service for teachers in Sierra Leone. He said although the struggle for the revamp of education had started very long, conditions still remained the same. “There are poor teachers, but there are no poor judges, no poor ministers and no poor lawyers,” Justice Sesay summed it up.