By: Aaron Bundu Lahai-Head of Media & Public Relations
On Saturday, December 7, 2024, the administration, staff and pupils of the Saint Francis Secondary School in Makeni in collaboration with the Old Makeni Franciscans Association known as OMFA celebrated the school’s 66th speech day and prize-giving ceremony at the school compound on Azzolini highway in Makeni.
The Hon. Vice President Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh served as Guest Speaker of the ceremony. In his keynote address, he declared his readiness to work and support the start of the construction of the administrative building and pledged his contribution towards the building project as somebody who has invested in education.
He explained that people go to school to get technical competence and have knowledge like becoming an engineer or doctor, that can be used to work and earn a living as well as function in society. He highlighted social intelligence as the second most important reason people go to school.
He cited some past pupils of the school who have transitioned from technical competence to social intelligence and are doing well and respected such as Honourable Alpha Khan and Timothy Kabba.
The vice president informed the audience about the investment made by the Government in the educational sector. He described the separation of the higher education from basic education into two distinct ministries as one critical step taken by the Bio’s Government in 2018, noting that the decision was made to ensure that the Basic Education Ministry focused on the free quality education that was initiated to cater for children without resources to go to school. He narrated the allocation of 22 percent budget allocation to education, noting that the Government is happy with the outcome over the last six years, citing the 98 percent pass rate among the 2024 BECE (Basic Education Certificate Examination) candidates of the St. Francis Secondary School.
The Vice President spoke about the recruitment of over 10,000 teachers in the last couple of years and plans to recruit 4,300 teachers in 2025. He stated that the Government is investing in the development of teachers and human capacity because the Government wants to improve learning outcomes. He added that having qualified teachers improves learning outcomes. He told the audience that the government has increased the salary of teachers and will continue to do so by paying the last fifteen percent of the forty-five percent bargained on in January 2025.
Vice President Jalloh intimated the audience about the Government’s focus on early childhood learning, stressing that the Government is investing in early childhood learning by building nursery schools because it is critical. He revealed the ongoing installation of solar panels to over 500 schools and Internet connectivity to over 400 schools across the country by the Government of Sierra Leone. He told the attendees that the Government is expanding the school feeding programme in 15 out of the 16 districts targeting two thousand five hundred schools with 800,000 beneficial pupils, noting that access to meals by pupils improves learning outcomes and reduces malnutrition.
Vice President Jalloh intimated that the Government is creating an alternative financing model for higher education and technical education. He enlightened that with 137,000 pupils attempting the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination, 120,000 pupils attempting the exam would like to enter higher learning institutions. He maintained that there is a need to build the infrastructure, recruit more lecturers, and create the opportunity for the pupils to gain admission into the universities, though these initiatives require additional resources. He disclosed that the Government is initiating the alternative financing model to look for resources outside the State fund to support the alternative model transformation.
Vice President Jalloh expressed happiness and pleasure to join in the celebration. He challenged the pupils of St Francis School to make use of the opportunity provided by the Government to get to universities, adding that the pupils are lucky to have the University of Makeni known as UNIMAK, that came into existence through St Francis School. He emphasized that UNIMAK has stood out as a competitive university offering courses that the big universities are offering in Sierra Leone.
Stephen Saio Conteh, the Acting Principal of the Senior School section of St Francis Secondary School, said that the school has an enrolment of 1,030, pupils for the junior school while the senior school has 1,391, pupils. He explained that two hundred and seventy-two pupils got eight subjects out of the two hundred and seventy-three candidates with five pupils scoring an aggregate of ten in the 2024 BECE. He further reported that two hundred and forty-nine pupils sat to the 2024 WASSCE with one hundred and seventy-four scoring between five to nine subjects.