Government through the Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education has told pressmen that the President will officially announce the 2nd package of the Free, Quality Education to kick start the second academic year of the scheme.
It will be recalled that the President at the start of the Free, Quality Education scheme phased out the components of the package with a view to address other competing priorities in the economy. He had announced a number of tasks his government will undertake and promised to be incorporating the other manifesto promises over a five year period.
The Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education recounted the success recorded in the first package which he noted has included the payment of school fees subsidies to the tune of over one hundred and twenty five billion, building of a hundred and twenty seven school across the country, procurement and distribution of exercise and core textbooks and many more others.
Minister Timbo was speaking at a the usual government press briefing at the Ministry of Education to mark the one year pronouncement of the Free, Quality Education by President Bio on the 20th August, 2018 in Freetown.
Mr. Timbo also disclosed that, as a Ministry immediately after the pronouncement it was the responsibility of the Ministry together with their stakeholders to operationalize the plan in consonant with the Country’s Education Sector Plan.
He dilated that they at the Ministry designed specific plans in the to address issues around accessibility, equity and completion by paying tuition and admission fees, building one hundred twenty seven (127) schools across the country and also piloting the school feeding program among others.
The Minister also continued that on the areas around quality and integrity, the Ministry procured core text books which according were distributed across government and government supported schools through the Local Councils.
The last aspect he spoke about was the strengthening of systems in the governance of the Education sector in the country. He reiterated the fact that, the structure of the Ministry was largely not capable to handle the many issues that had emerged around the management of both primary and secondary schools in the country. This he added had impacted on the quality of teaching and learning.
He disclosed that Government is recruiting 160 supervisors ,ten for each district to give support to the Deputy Directors of Education in the supervision of teaching and learning and the Free Quality Education. The structuring of the Ministry, according to him is being complemented by the Teaching Service Commission and the School Management committees.
A Board of Directors, Minister Timbo disclosed will advice the Minister on all educational matters in the country.
The Minister also spoke on the current negotiations by the Teaching Service Trade Group Negotiating Council (TSTGNC) and the ongoing professionalization of the teaching service by the start of the 2019 academic year. The TSC will move towards providing teachers with license to teach in schools across the country.
He concluded by disclosing that, from a statistics of over one million enrollment of pupils in schools before the start of the FAQE ,government has been able to record a total of two million six hundred and seventeen thousand 2,617,000 pupils nationwide.