By Adah Mansaray
Parents across Sierra Leone have bemoaned the high cost of school charges as well as the practical decrease of quality education in the country.
According to parents/guardians, the manner in which both private and government assisted schools are levying heavy charges on parents is as a result of the lackadaisical and nonchalant behaviour of the Ministry of Education that fails to undertake school monitoring activities.
Parents further stated that, the economic crisis in the country is ravaging the education of children especially the current influx of lethal drugs are also greatly affect school pupils.
They opined that, this year, the enrolment of students in the academic institutions will be minimal due to financial and other unforeseen circumstances including drug abuse.
Mr Ibrahim Kabbia, a teacher from the Kindo International Academy and a father of two, has explained that, now that school has reopened, the honeymoon is over.
According to him he will not have rest because a teacher should work from Monday to Friday and sometimes he too works even on Saturdays.
‘None of my children are attending the school I am teaching because I can’t afford such huge amount to pay for them,’ he said.
Mr Kabbia also reiterated that now that school has reopened students have shared views and opinions about the situation in the country.
Kabbia appealed to teachers of various schools to do more than teaching children especially to teach them how to read, write among others.
He said schools are primarily responsible to provide nutrition, health and hygiene services to vulnerable children who are economically the hardest hit.
He also expressed concern about the current crises in the country, while many of the children are likely not to return to school due to obvious reasons.
He further explained that, after the prolonged school closures, it is necessary for government to take pre-caution and ensure that those educational institutions that are in the habit of inflating school charges stop doing so.
He said at the moment school materials are expensive and every parent and teacher has to ponder to ensure that their children can be able to attend schools, especially so when the cost of materials is going from bad to worse.
Kabbia opined that, many school pupils are suffering to gain their education and also lamented on the lack of problem solving skills in Sierra Leone which he said is affecting the children in different schools.
‘When there is a proper system and it’s well monitored and nourished, there will be upswing in life of children going to school. So the reopening of schools is an essential aspect to enable quality education of children in the country,’ he asserted.
A school going pupil of the Freetown secondary school for girls (FSSG), Adiatu Mansaray told this press that, she is excited now that the school has reopened.
She also pointed out that, the summer holiday is over but feel nervous on the first day of schooling, because she will be facing new challenges in the school.
Mansaray revealed that her home country, Sierra Leone is beautiful and used to be peaceful, citied that the current situation is frustrating citizens especially students in various educational institutions.
She spoke about the non-availability of school buses particularly at a time when the country’s internal transportation has significantly increased.
She, however, urged the government of “Tok N Do” President Bio to provide transportation especially the procurement of more school buses as well as lowering the cost of fuel per litre to better Sierra Leone and its people.
A single mother, Madam Bintu Kargbo, lamented that she is a trader and a mother of twin girls that will start their schooling this academic year.
‘I have to spend NLe4000 and above as school tuition, uniforms and other charges. It will be difficult as a single mother to be able to meet these obligations,’ she said.
‘To be a single mother is not an easy task,’ she maintained.
Madam Bintu added that, this is not the way things used to be in Sierra Leone, disclosing that over the last two years private schools are much better than government schools. She ended up that the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) government should ensure that all government and government assisted schools have well trained and qualified teachers who will form the basis for any successful opening of school strategy.
She pleaded with the government administration to consider teacher’s welfare especially the increase of their salaries to make them efficient and effective in their teaching.
She also spoke about the need for government monitoring mechanism to be able to track the real time the teachers use per period to teach.
Bintu said apart from observing or monitoring it is equally important to create awareness amongst all the school stakeholders, parents and students about what the school administration are faced with especially the managing of very reluctant teachers and staff.