By Ibrahim Sesay
The Institute for Legal Research and Advocacy for Justice (ILRAJ) has issued a strong position paper calling for urgent nationwide reforms to improve school safety in Sierra Leone, following two tragic incidents that exposed serious weaknesses in child protection and school supervision systems.
In its April 2025 paper titled: “Addressing Issues Relating to School Safety in Sierra Leone,” ILRAJ said the safety and well-being of children in schools remain under serious threat, warning that weak enforcement of existing laws and poor oversight continue to place pupils at risk.
The organization referenced the tragic death of Khadija Jalloh, an 8-year-old class three pupil in Freetown, who died on November 8, 2024, after allegedly being sexually abused by her teacher. According to the paper, Khadija Jalloh reportedly identified her teacher as the perpetrator before succumbing to her injuries, raising grave concerns over teacher vetting and institutional accountability.
ILRAJ also highlighted the March 18, 2025 Fort Street tragedy at the National Pentecostal School in Freetown, where three children reportedly went missing within the school compound. Hours later, two boys were found dead inside a parked vehicle on the premises, while a four-year-old girl was discovered in critical condition. Although medical findings later attributed the deaths to suffocation, the incident sparked public outrage and renewed scrutiny of school safety protocols.
The legal advocacy body said both cases reflect broader systemic failures, including inadequate screening of school proprietors and teachers, poor fencing and security arrangements, weak reporting systems and delayed responses to critical incidents.
Citing the Basic and Senior Secondary Education Act 2023, the Comprehensive School Safety Policy 2023 and the Teaching Service Commission Act 2011, ILRAJ noted that Sierra Leone already has a robust legal and policy framework to safeguard children but stressed that implementation remains inconsistent and often ineffective.
Among the key challenges identified were the failure to rigorously screen school proprietors and educators, unfenced school compounds, absence of trained security personnel, fear of stigma among victims and families, and slow institutional responses that undermine justice and public trust.
To address those concerns, ILRAJ urged the Government of Sierra Leone to take immediate and decisive measures, including mandatory criminal and financial background checks for school proprietors and teachers, strict enforcement of the teachers’ code of conduct, fencing and gating of all school compounds, installation of surveillance cameras and regular unannounced inspections by School Quality Assurance Officers.
The institute further recommended the establishment of a confidential nationwide reporting mechanism for abuse and violence in schools, increased public awareness campaigns, stronger parental involvement in school safety planning, strict identification protocols for child pickups and accelerated investigations into school-related abuses and fatalities.
ILRAJ concluded that the deaths of Khadija Jalloh and the children involved in the Fort Street incident must not be treated as isolated tragedies, but as urgent warnings of a wider failure to prioritize child safety in educational institutions.
“The time for action is now; our children’s lives depend on it,” the paper emphasized.
The organization reaffirmed its readiness to support Government and education stakeholders through continued research, advocacy and collaboration aimed at ensuring schools become safe sanctuaries of learning rather than sites of preventable tragedy.
