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A high-level delegation from the World Bank, alongside the Free Education Project (FEPS) team, has completed a field visit to evaluate the impact of newly constructed school facilities under the project’s Component 3 – School Level Education Development.
The visit aimed to provide ongoing support and supervision, highlighting notable achievements and future priorities for improving educational conditions across the country.
Dr. Abdu Muwonge, the World Bank Country Manager for Sierra Leone, led the delegation, which included the Operations Manager for West Africa, Michelle Keane, and the Project Team Lead, Mokhlesur Rahman. The FEPS team was headed by Ambrose Sesay, Project Coordinator.
The group visited the Roman Catholic Primary School in Loppa Dama Chiefdom, Kenema District, and the United Brethren for Christ Primary School in Kakua Chiefdom, Bo District.
During the visit, team members engaged with headteachers, volunteer teachers, School Management Committee members, traditional authorities, and community leaders. Many community members expressed gratitude for the new school buildings, noting their positive impact on school attendance and the learning environment.
However, challenges remain, including a shortage of trained teachers, lack of incentives for volunteer teachers, and limited access to educational resources.
Dr. Muwonge assured community members that their feedback would be shared with the Ministry of Education and other stakeholders to identify potential areas for improvement and additional support.
The delegation also toured classrooms and interacted with students, who expressed excitement about their new facilities, particularly the spacious classrooms and comfortable furniture.
“We are pleased with the infrastructure improvements and how they are positively impacting pupils’ learning. The classrooms and WASH facilities show great progress. We also appreciate the community’s active role in sustaining these achievements,” Dr. Muwonge stated.
The team commended the project for delivering quality results, even in remote areas. In Kenema, the local chief shared that new bye-laws had been enacted to boost school attendance, including fines for parents whose children are found outside during school hours without a valid reason.
The community’s women’s leader, who also serves as the Gender-Based Violence (GBV) focal person, stressed their commitment to child protection, stating, “We are determined to keep our children safe. No teacher should be sending children to buy cigarettes or engaging in inappropriate behavior. If that happens, we take action immediately.”
The World Bank Country Program Manager also spoke on the the importance of structured support for volunteer teachers and the need for strong community participation in safeguarding children. “The community is the first safeguard. By working together, we can reduce vulnerability and improve the quality of education,” he noted.
The visit reaffirmed donor confidence in the Free Education Project’s results and strategic direction, assuring that feedback from the mission will inform next steps, including an accelerated plan to complete outstanding infrastructure and address emerging needs.
Both the World Bank and FEPS expressed commitment in ensuring that every child in Sierra Leone has access to quality, inclusive, and safe education.
This is but a half baked and most ineffective way to assess government performance on the Free Education project by an institution like world Bank, from whom so much is expected. Assessing government performance in their very stronghold will yield nothing critical but a fine tuning of the sad reality. The two schools mentioned are not fully government sponsored; they are government assisted schools. Our government has and will never build a school in the name of a church mission like catholic.
The World Bank Country Director is either inexperienced in evaluating government performance using best practice or is in a deliberate vocation to concoct creds for the system. Why the East alone? What about schools in other parts of the country? Are you saying that that one or two convoluted examples replace a thousand living facts?
It’s one thing to endure a failed governance, but it’s another thing, way more painful and unbearable to well-meaning citizens, when the truth is underrepresented amidst despair.