Mushrooming of Private Schools

 =OPINION EDITORIAL= (Op-Ed) 

Mushrooming of Private Schools Undermining FQE 

 By: Musa Kamara (Mr. Mark):

 The rapid growth of Private owned Schools in Freetown has been seen by many as one that is at the expense of the quality education this government and the people of Sierra Leone are striving for. In 2018, the Bio-led administration instituted Free and Quality Education for Primary and Secondary Schools in the country. This delivered promise received a widespread commendation from members of the public, both home and abroad. And it eventually attracted a lot of donor partners who financially support the Free and Quality Education in the country.

 As pronounced by the president, Free and Quality education is for all government and government-assisted schools. But the growth of private schools in the county is seen by many as a factor that undermines the aims of the FQE. There are good private schools indeed, but among them again, some are simply money-making ventures. People who know little or nothing about education are proprietors and proprietress of schools. In an attempt to justify their existence, they, together with their Principals, are actively involved in exam malpractice.

 Examination malpractice is one of the bad elements this government is trying to curb out of the education system, but I implore anyone reading this editorial to take a stroll up the hills of Freetown, the remote areas of the provinces, and see the number of Private Schools in those areas, some are very much closer to each other, with very poor learning environment. It is a fact that there are very good private schools in the country, and most of them have been topping the chat in terms of public exams genuinely, and have been producing brilliant brains in our country. But another apparent reality is that many private schools in the country are run by people who have little or no knowledge about education administravely. 

 Students writing public exams have taken some of these private schools as safe havens to do exam malpractice without hindrance. As Professor Joe A.D Alie once stated in one of his pieces, “a niece once requested some money, because she was taking the WASSCE. I enquired why she needed all that money. She responded that she was going to a town in the provinces to take the exams. I asked why she couldn’t take the papers in Freetown? Her exact response was: "Na de pipul de pass the exam." That response kept me thinking. And indeed she "passed", but couldn’t go through her first year at the University.” 

This is how students at this level of their education have taken some of these private schools, they see them as to where they can get easy manufactured grades. Thanks to the “Scorpion Squad” of the ACC that has been exposing some of those schools, including some Government schools as well, thereby help in minimizing the high spate of exam malpractice. The continuous high demand for money and other extra charges on students by teachers and principals of these private schools, keeps parents doubting the existence of the FQE, especially parents that are yet to distinguish the purpose and target of the FQE. 

These parents, that are novice to the fact that the FQE is meant for government and government-assisted schools, are mostly the one's grumbling and doubting the claim and existence of the FQE. Even though the same can be said about some government and government-assisted schools that regularly ask for extra charges, it is becoming rampant and habitual for gullible parents who have kids in some of these demanding private schools. There is a need to reform the policies guiding the establishment of a private school in Sierra Leone. Some private schools in the mountain communities of Freetown need to be constantly checked to their operational policies. Anyone establishment a private school must have some amount of credibility and experience in administering schools. The location of the schools must not be hidden and difficult to access by supervisors and students or pupils. Does the MBSSE have a system of evaluating these private schools every five years (a kind of quality control measure)? Are there stringent criteria for the opening of private schools? These are some of the questions our Education Ministry and the government should try to answer or address. 

Finally, to put an end to the high spate of this mushrooming of private schools, and address other critical issues in our country’s education system, there is a need to conduct a national dialogue on our education system. A dialogue that will be politically free, and done with all sincerity of purpose. “If we must have a national conversation on the state of our education system in Sierra Leone (something I have been advocating for for years), these are some of my random thoughts, which might help organize some of the discussion points,” said Prof. Joe A.D Alie.