By John S. Conteh
Residents of Benadugu Tambaya section in Falaba district have called on the authorities to help their children access a Junior Secondary School (JSS) with the necessary atmosphere and learning materials describing the lack of such a facility as “a major challenge” in their section of the newly-created district.
The community people say this situation has caused the number of school dropouts to increase along with teenage pregnancy and early marriage for the girls while some children end up on farms and in mining areas.
Speaking to Politico, the deputy Head Teacher at the Missionary Choice of Africa Primary School in Tambaya Balia, expressed frustration that his over 20 years of teaching experience in the community has been a “fruitless labour as most of my pupils stop schooling because of the distance and strange communities they have to travel to for the purpose of accessing secondary education”.
Mohamed Lamin Kandeh said that there are more than eight primary schools that are producing National Primary School Examination (NPSE) candidates every academic year with mostly 100% pass rate but the pupils can’t proceed beyond that level.
The Section Chief of Benadugu section Moses Momorie Marah told Politico that the only available nearby school called Kamaron Junior Secondary School is in Mankalia section about 15 miles away with other options too difficult to reach because of the poor road network. He added that they have over the years been using locally made foot bridges but that becomes impossible at the height of the rainy season when promotional exams normally take place.
Hawa Koroma, a teenage mother said living away from her parents to access junior school in Kamaron was a difficult experience because she had to travel to get food from her parents every week and in the process, she would sometimes miss classes and examinations. She said that’s how ‘I was exposed to many things and ended up getting pregnant and dropping out of school’.
The section chief said the community has started operating a Junior Secondary School on their own but that they are facing challenges with the necessary facilities ranging from the lack of teachers to learning material.
With a population of over 200,000, Falaba district has 13 chiefdoms which according to the Deputy District Education Director Alpha Sesay, house 28 JSS and 6 Senior Secondary Schools.
Copyright © 2021 Politico Online 04/05/21
