By Abubakarr Harding
This medium was informed that the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) will soon start the process of recruiting one thousand two hundred (1,200) teachers adding to the over 36,000 teachers that are on Government payment payroll.
According to the Chairman of the TSC, Conrad Sackey, they have just completed the development of the Recruitment Forms with the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), noting that the forms are now electronic and would be completed online. He said the Commission is doing such in order to prevent the complaint that applicants normally make that the forms were sold to them.
He said a recruitment committee is now in place and meets regularly to agree on other modalities.
Since the introduction of the Free Quality School Education (FQSE) in 2018, the New Direction Government has employed 10,268 teachers nationwide in order to meet the overwhelming influx of pupils yearning to benefit from the scheme.
“Teachers make up 40% of the entire Government payroll and over 4000 teachers have been placed on their right pay grade. Over 300 school heads have been regularized. In 2021 alone we have recruited 1,000 teachers. There are over 36,000 Teachers on Government payroll. We aim to add this number to 37,500 by next years. That’s the New Direction,” according to the Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Dr David Moinina Sengeh.
He said the Government will continue to invest in and promote teachers because that’s one sure way to contribute to national development.
In the building up to the end of April 2020, there were concerns that the Government might not be able to fulfill its commitment due to the emergence of the Coronavirus pandemic that forced many nations to reduce budgetary support on education. But the Government kept the promise and paid the 30% increase for up to 34,350 teachers across the country. The increment at the time means that the payroll for teachers increased by Le 13,45 billion, from Le 42.95 billion in March 2020 to Le 56.40 billion in April 2020. Recently, there is another 45% increase in the salary of teachers.
“I am a community teacher and I taught for over five years with no salary, and in 2019 I was fortunate to be among the over 4,000 teachers that were approved by the Government. Six of us were approved in my school and that served as a motivation to us. Also, the learning materials they gave to us as a result of the FQSE makes learning very easy for the kids,” according to Alhaji Mohamed Sesay a teacher at Konta Kuma Senior and Junior Secondary School Port Loko District.
Over 500 Principals and Vice Principals have been appointed between August 2020 and November 2021. All were previously either Acting positions or vacant. Government has invested in school management and leadership.
Presidential National Best Teacher Award- 48 teachers were honored by the President of Sierra Leone for their service and dedication as teachers. Two of those teachers were nominated to the African Union Best Teacher Prize and several have benefited from advanced training opportunities.
