By Ibrahim Bangura
In 2008, after the poor performance of pupils in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the school-leaving West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), President Ernst Bai Koroma set up a Commission of Inquiry. Amongst other things, the commission was to investigate and identify the reasons for the poor performance of pupils in those exams, ascertain the impact of the 6-3-3-4 system of education on the performance of the pupils, find out the reasons for indiscipline in secondary schools, and recommend immediate, short-term, medium-term and long-term measures to improve on public exams in secondary schools.
Led by Professor Sahr Gbamanja, the panel later presented their report with a 32-point recommendation: 19 of them immediate, four short-term and ninemedium-term. The immediate ones included the modification of the 6-3-3-4 system of education to include a compulsory early child component, and and an extension by one year of the duration for senior secondary schooling, hence 6-3-4-4.
In its entirety, the Gbamanja Commission of Enquiry report is a very thorough one. However, in my humble opinion, I think the suggestion/recommendation to modify the 6-3-3-4 system was a bad call. By and large, there is extrinsic evidence to show that the old system can still work. There are lawyers, doctors, accountants and other professionals who went through that system and can hold their own with their counterparts from other West African countries. However, as is usually the problem with Sierra Leone, our leaders are always eager to find the easy way out. One would have thought that they would find and identify the weaknesses within the system so as to be able to improve and better it. It is my belief therefore that an additional year of senior secondary school will not in any way improve our results/performance at the BECE and WASSC Examinations. There are other issues that are singularly and collectively responsible for the poor performance of our students at these external exams.
Ironically, the report highlights all but two of these issues. Amongst the salient recommendations of the commission are: to phase out of the two-shift system in schools, to reduce the number of examination subjects from 9 to 7 for BECE and WASSCE so as to conform with other West African countries and to enforce rules regarding the speaking of English in schools.
They also recommended a reduction in class sizes, review of teacher recruitment process, the introduction of a ceiling on the number of teachers to be employed, training all untrained and unqualified teachers throughout the country through well-structured training programmes and the provision of library facilities in every school
In my considered opinion, the two most important contributing factors to the downward spiral of our educational system were completely left out. And I make bold to advance them:
Primary school syllabus and curriculum overhaul
Every strong building needs a good foundation. With regards education, every student gets that foundation in primary school. It goes without saying therefore that if the foundation is weak the likelihood of our students failing external examinations is very high. Let me hasten to add that I am not in any way suggesting that another year be added to the primary school years. I did five years of primary school (owing to a double promotion from class 2 to class 4) but within those five years I was given a very strong foundation. Those were the days when we had the “First Aid in English”, when at all times we were encouraged or even compelled to speak English in and out of school.
Back then, we prepared for the NPSE using Joe A.D. Alie’s “Quantitative and Verbal Aptitude” work book. Ironically, those were the days when we were cautioned against reading local newspapers as they were filled with grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. It came as no surprise therefore that we (Sierra Leonean candidates) performed excellently during the NPSE.
My point here is simple: The syllabus and curriculum back then worked perfectly. It gave us a solid foundation for secondary school life. We entered Form 1 (JSS 1) as masters of the Queen’s language, a key to passing exams. One teacher of mine in secondary school was always fond of saying “To understand the question is the first part of answering it”. I could not agree more. Our exams, be they internal or external, are drawn up in English. If, for whatever reason, students have not mastered and can therefore not communicate well in English, one does not need to be a rocket scientist to know that they will perform woefully at exams. In sum, government must ensure that students get a very strong foundation in primary school, as this will pave the way for great achievements in secondary school.
Teacher Remuneration:
Our teachers need to be paid and paid properly. End of story. It is a shame the plight teachers go through in this country. As far as I know, teaching is one of the most unappreciated professions in Sierra Leone. Nobody really wants to be a teacher. Not anymore anyway. And there lies the problem. First, schools are constrained into employing unqualified and untrained teachers who have no passion whatsoever for teaching. For these “teachers”, teaching is just a means to an end. They need a mode of survival.
The commission highlighted the non-completion of syllabus before the taking of exams, as a main cause of our candidates’ bad performance at these exams. I must admit that I do subscribe to this submission. However I think this is an economic issue. It is no secret that teachers make more money from private lessons than from what they are paid by government. As such, it would be bad business for them to complete the syllabus in school. If this were to happen, there would be no need for private lessons. That being said, it becomes apparent that the only means of ensuring that teachers do their job well is to pay them something commensurate to the service they are expected to provide.
Ironically, however, ever since the conclusion of the Gbamanja Commission of Enquiry and the subsequent submission of their report to the President, the present Government has been more focused on shifting the blame, rather than actually focusing on the real problems and providing long-lasting solutions to these problems. Rather than passionately working to fix the educational system, the Ministry of Education is busy blaming the teachers for the poor showing of our students at external exams. Sadly, therefore, I am left with no choice but to conclude that if the status quo is maintained and the present Minister is kept at the helm of affairs at that very important Ministry, it is but a matter of time before our educational system collapses completely.
Dr Minkailu Bah has been Minister of Education since 2007. Since his coming into office, we have witnessed nothing but a decline in our educational standards. To date, his biggest achievement, in my considered opinion, is the discovery of ghost teachers within the system. So it would be unfair to the Minister if anyone questioned his zealousness. However, I am quite certain that it would take more than a zealous former lecturer to restructure and fix our failing education system. What – or may be who – we need, is an educationist who understands the issues both from the point of view of the teachers and from the students.
To further illustrate the Minister’s failure to comprehend the real issues surrounding the decline of our educational system, ever since the discovery and weeding-out of the infamous ghost teachers, the expenditure on the part of the Ministry saved by Dr Minkailu Bah has yet to be put to good use such as, for instance, increasing the salary of teachers. Or has it been put to some other use that we are not aware of? Just my thoughts.
The author is a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of Sierra Leone who was called to the Sierra Leone Bar in October 2008. He is a Partner at the Law Firm of Sorie & Bangura. He also holds a Master of Science degree in Business Administration and Corporate Management. He is passionate about reform and development.
