By Bampia James Bundu
Education for All Sierra Leone, (EFA-SL), a local civil society coalition, has engaged coalition members across the country to develop post Ebola education strategies for the benefit of the entire country.
Speaking at the opening of a two-day annual regional sector review meeting in Freetown on Tuesday, EFA’s national coordinator, Joseph Cobinah, explained that they had come together to review coalition network activities in the region for 2014. He said they would also plan for activities that would inform the coalition’s national strategic development for 2015-2018 in all districts across the country. He added that they would also develop an education plan for post Ebola preparedness and also discuss and recommend on the coalition’s governance.
Cobinah noted that the education system needed to recover from its present state by bringing all children back to school and enrolling into schools those that had been out of schools even before the Ebola outbreak. He said several factors had to be considered in addressing the impact of Ebola and ensure that the system was resilient to any future outbreaks.
The EFA-SL boss explained that coalition members would be developing district education network intervention plans as a source that would fit into the development of the national coalition strategic plan.
He encouraged participants to come up with views, comments and recommendations with regards to the development of strategies.
Secretary General, Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU), Davison A. Kuyateh, commended EFA-SL for its preparedness and determination in ensuring that they came up with a national post Ebola strategic plan that would benefit the nation.
Noting the need for necessary measures to be put in place, Kuyateh stated that children would not be at any risk of contracting the virus by the time schools re-opened.
However, he said there was an urgent need for rapid school assessment programmes across the country, adding that schools disinfected and wash facilities provided.
Director of Youth and Child Advocacy Network, Hassan Fuard Kanu, pleaded with the Sierra Leone government to prioritize pupils who were about to take the Basic Education Certificate Education Exam, BECE. He said it had been a challenging period for those pupils, considering the fact that they had to wait for almost a year before attempting their exams. He also commended the civil society coalition for what he described as a “timely meeting” and appealed to all stakeholders to give their best in the development of the education strategies.
© Politico 28/01/15
