The architect of Sierra Leone's 6-3-3-4 educational system, Alfred Bobson Sesay has described the modified 6-3-4-4 system as “cosmetic”.
The new system, which started this week, adds an extra year to senior secondary education.
The government believes this will better prepare kids to sit to the school-leaving exams known as WASSCE.
Speaking to Politico, Dr Sesay, who is a member of the opposition Sierra Leone People's Party, said what was needed to address the current problems besetting the country's lacklustre educational system had nothing to do with the number of years kids spend in school.
“The child does not need to spend an extra year in school”, he said, adding that even the now former system of 6-3-3-4 could not receive all it needed let alone an additional year.
“An additional year will have no impact on the child's cognitive development because teachers are still not well trained” Dr Sesay went on.
“What is needed is a robust inspectorate to monitor schools and teaching”, he said, as well as effective teaching, increased teacher enrolment, adequate provision of learning materials and relevant equipment for pupils and teachers should be at the heart of the solution “and not some cosmetic fanciful arrangement of adding an extra year to schooling”.
The former Director of Education observed that the system was not able to adequately meet the technical and vocational needs of the system, which he said should have been focused on in stead.
Dr Sesay said teachers teach only when they want because there was no longer a monitoring system which he referred to as dead.
“Schools do not start on time, and when they do effective teaching does not take place”.
He also raised the issue of leakages and “too many public holidays” which he said were unnecessarily eating into school time.
Make sure teaching takes place and those who run the schools know what they are doing.
The Minister of Education, Dr Minkailu Bah was not available for comment. He asked Politico to see him on Friday.
