Sierra Leoneans across the globe have lauded the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education under the leadership of Alpha Timbo as one entity that is working towards President Bio’s New Direction manifesto.
It could be re-called that one of the main campaign messages of President Bio when he was in opposition was the implementation of the Free Quality Education for primary and secondary pupils.
After winning the March 2018 general elections, President Bio wasted no time in fulfilling his promise to implement the FQE,
But again ministers of government are just like wife to husband; wherein they say behind any successful man there must be a hard-working woman. In order for a president to succeed, he needs a strong team of ministers and MDAs and so President Bio made no mistake in appointing Alpha Timbo as Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education,
The starting phase of any implication is one which is very much challenging and the FQE is one such project, ranging from infrastructural, lack of learning and teaching materials, lack of training and qualify teachers, lack of funding in the education sector and limited knowledge in the sector. All these are problems inherited by the Ministry. Since his appointment, Minister Timbo has worked very hard in making sure the president succeeds in the education sector.
He added that the ministry is planning to increase access to free GoSL pre-primary education for children 3 to 5 years old from 15% in 2020 by developing a costed action plan to guide the expansion of pre-primary education services, including strategies for expanding public pre-school education in primary schools and increasing opportunities through other forms of services also transition levels from primary to JSS and also developing a national strategy and action plan, and ensuring that 100% of schools implement measures to prevent school related economic and sexual related offences by sensitising learners on their rights and referral channels at JSS, SSS, TVET, HEIs and learning centres.
The ministry through support from government and donor partners have approve over two thousand teacher for effective teaching and brings in some reform in the sector,
Based on his background as Secretary General, the Sierra Leone Teachers Union, (SLTU), Minister of Labour Social Security and Industrial Relations championed the Liberation Movement of Teachers and the Union. Together they transformed the SLTU to a more formidable organization that took its rightful position in society and the International Trade Union Movement, among the reforms introduced in the union and the teaching profession. His background made his job easy for him.
