By: Sahr James Bangah
As part of its mandate to promote sustainable development interventions in Sierra Leone by engaging and empowering community people to interact, interface and hold accountable duty bearers, Centre for Community Education Network and Development (CCEND) on the 26 February 2021 engaged Karena district stakeholders on a project titled " Assessing the Impact of the resources allocated to the free quality education and it's effective utilization of service delivery provided for pupils and schools in Karene District" with funds from world Bank through the Ministry of finance under the Public Financial Management Improvement and Consolidation to Non State Actors.
Explaining about the project, Alhaji Musa Okeyan Conteh disclosed that the project aim at enhancing strong collaboration, involvement and participation of stakeholders in the implementation within Karene district in order to improve accountability and transparency practices by school authorities and community on the effective utilization of the free quality education resources with the aim of increased involvement and ownership of community people in monitoring of schools and communities education related resources.
“Creating wider public awareness, enhancing best practice and boosting community advocacy for more supportive measures on government policy and structures that will help sustain government’s flagship free quality education will become a reality through this project,” he further stated.
He continued that Centre for Community Education Network and Development (CCEND) with support from Community Education Monitors (CEM) conducted a survey in Karene district within four chiefdoms, Sella Limba, Sanda Loko, Sanda Taindaren and Tambaka within thirty schools, he continued that the survey target one hundred and twenty (120) respondents on focus groups and thirty individuals heads of schools in order to identify problem affecting the Free Quality Education.
He noted that the late supply of school materials, inadequate trained and qualify teachers, late disbursement of subsidies, late inclusion of approved teachers in the pay roll and the limited seating accommodation including school materials undermined the free quality education.
Sorie Joseph Sesay revealed that the survey recommendation looks at mobilization of funds for the consideration and rehabilitation of schools in the district, urgent need to recruit more trained and qualified teachers for effective teaching in schools and re- established the school feeding programme in all government assisted Schools to achieve effective retention of pupils in schools and also to reassess teachers to enhance salary increment as a way of motivation.
He reiterated that Karene district council should provide logging facilities for education staffs and also strength monitoring in schools, he pointed out that Karen's district council should immediately construct school hand pump Wells were it is not available and also rehabilitates were it is needed.
He emphasized that there is need for Karene district council to collaborate with District Health Medical Team ( DHMT) to administer effectively, good hygiene facilities and provide simple medical first aid training to teachers, pupils and school authorities and also rehabilitate feeder roads to make education accessible in the district.
On behalf of the Ministry of Education Science and technology, Gibrilla Sesay, called on head of School Monitoring Committee (SMC) within their respective community to ensure regularity, punctuality and good performance, scheme of work, lesson notes with teaching aids, weekly closure of registers and classroom management and warned heads of schools and community stakeholders to help monitor all supplied resources for Free quality education and to ensure none of them is sold or misused within the community.
He also called on parents and guardians to monitor their children academic performance both at home and in schools.
The ceremony ended with the awarding of certificates of recognition for the performance and role play by the Community Education Monitors (CEM) in achieving the project expected outcomes.
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