Sierra Leone - History & Background, Constitutional & Legal Foundations, Educational System—overview, Preprimary & Primary Education, Secondary Education
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| BASIC DATA
|
| Official Country Name:
|
Republic of Sierra Leone
|
| Region:
|
Africa
|
| Population:
|
5,232,624
|
| Language(s):
|
English, Mende, Temne, Krio
|
| Literacy Rate:
|
31.4%
|
| Number of Primary Schools:
|
1,795
|
| Compulsory Schooling:
|
6 years
|
| Educational Enrollment:
|
Primary: 367,426
|
|
|
Secondary: 102,474
|
|
|
Higher: 4,742
|
| Teachers:
|
Primary: 10,850
|
|
|
Secondary: 5,969
|
|
|
Higher: 600
|
Additional Topics
Sierra Leone, a relatively tiny country on the west coast of Africa, totals 28,000 square miles, or 71,470 square kilometers. A 1994 population estimate puts the country at 4.2 million people (53 percent female, 47 percent male). Sierra Leone is bounded on the west and southwest by the Atlantic Ocean, on the northwest, north, and northeast by Guinea, and on the east and southeast by Liberia. It wa…
The constitutional foundation on which the new educational structure is anchored can be found in Decree No. 4 of 1994, which established the National Commission for Basic Education. The military government, the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC), which was in power in 1994, designed a wide-ranging National Education Action Plan to support basic education reform that aims to provide basic e…
The standard of education in Sierra Leone before and immediately after independence was one of the best around the world. With the University of Sierra Leone established in 1827, Sierra Leone was dubbed, "Athens of West Africa." But that educational system fell on hard times. Over a long period of neglect, the country witnessed an erosion of standards in its educational system. From …
The new structure of Sierra Leone's educational system embraces a preprimary (nursery) education. The new statutory age for a child to enter primary school is six years. Children between the ages of three and six acquire preprimary education. The main objective of this nursery education is to prepare children for primary education. However, preprimary education can be formal or informal. Th…
Under the new system, secondary education is divided into junior and senior secondary schooling. After six years of primary schooling, the student spends three years in junior secondary school and another three years in senior secondary school. Junior secondary school (JSS) is the final part of formal basic education. It provides a broad-based general education to students between the ages of 12 a…
Higher education refers to all formal education received after the completion of secondary schooling. In Sierra Leone, higher education comprises the following: In the new system, higher education is expected to help in the realization of the objectives of the new 6-3-3-4 system, such as the rapid enhancement of literacy in Sierra Leone and the improvement of educational opportunities for women a…
The old organizational and managerial structure of education in Sierra Leone has been inadequate to meet the social, economic, technological, and other challenges of the time. The new system, therefore, seeks to embark on a systematic reform and reorganization of the management and administration of education at all levels. After a thorough review of the entire situation, the new structure will be…
Sierra Leone is one of the countries with the highest illiteracy rates in the world. The New Education Policy for Sierra Leone maintains that 69.3 percent of the male population is illiterate, while 80.0 percent of the female population is illiterate. Part of the function of the National Commission for Basic Education is to coordinate adult and nonformal education. "A significant percentage…
The training of qualified teachers is of paramount importance to the success of the new system. Adequate provisions must be made to educate and train high-quality teachers. To address these ends, institutions have been restructured by way of mergers; courses and programs also have been revised or are being revised. The new system ensures that all teachers are given courses for teaching nonformal a…
No doubt, education in Sierra Leone has suffered tremendously both from systemic neglect and the ravages of a horrendous rebel war. Also, the old system was inadequate to meet the present needs of the country. The new system of education is, therefore, a welcome idea. The new system has a great deal of potential, which, if properly harnessed, will uplift the country. The study of Sierra Leone and …
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