Rural Concern Foundation

Rural Concern Foundation.

EDUCATION IN SIERRA LEONE:

Education in Sierra Leone has been a challenge. The devastating Sierra Leone civil war that lasted from 1991 to 2002 took the nation's education system as an early casualty, wiping out 1,270 primary schools and forcing 67 percent of all- school-aged children out of school in the year 2001. More than a decade later, Education in Sierra Leone is still recovering from the destruction caused by the conflict. The first nine years of education are compulsory, but this law remains virtually impossible to enforce due to the shortage of facilities left in the war's wake. The west African nation continues to struggle with its schools, training teachers, and Educating children who have never stepped foot inside of a classroom. The system of education in Sierra Leone comprises three basic levels: primary, junior secondary, senior secondary. Despite these opportunities, Education in Sierra Leone continues to face significant hurdles, more than 40 percent of primary school teachers are untrained. There is also a massive shortage of textbooks, furniture, structures, etc. And it is not uncommon for four or five students to share a single book.