01 February 2010
Since the end of the war Sierra Leone has made significant progress to education, and now offers free primary education.
As a result primary school enrolment between 2002 and 2005 has doubled and there has been an increase in the number of girls going onto secondary education.
However huge challenges still remain: approximately 25-30% of primary and junior secondary children are out of school, girls in particular, and 40% of teachers are untrained, or unqualified.
To help Sierra Leone continue its progress the UK government has signed a joint agreement with the government of Sierra Leone, the World Bank and the UN, agreeing to support the implementation of the government’s eight-year Education Sector Strategy, one of the first in Africa.
This marks a great opportunity for education in Sierra Leone, and highlights government and donor commitments to a strong partnership and coordination in such a vital sector.
The establishment of a joint government and development partner, Education Sector Support Fund (the ESSF), will enable the government to tackle short term priorities, but also attract funds to address its medium and longer-term strategies.
Strong ESSF monitoring and reporting mechanisms will also ensure that government and development partners resources are used effectively to support Sierra Leone’s education priorities, in the context of delivering key Paris principles on aid effectiveness.
As critical partners, the World Bank and the UN (represented by UNICEF) also signed the agreement with the government to provide support to the ESSF, where the Education For All - Fast Track Initiative funds (FTI) are now available ($3.4 million in July 2009).