By Prince J Musa in Kenema
The Deputy Director of Basic and Senior Secondary Schools in Kenema Kanku Agnes Kamara has warned heads of schools against the selling of the Free Quality Educational materials to come on 1st March 2022 when the school items will be distributed.
She told Politico that the teaching and learning materials meant for schools are part of the government’s Free Quality Education Programme and would be made available to the schools. She spoke of having engaged partners to help the ministry in their distribution.
Kamara said thirty-one items covering from nursery to senior secondary schools including text and exercise books, and sports materials will be taken to a strategic location within each of the 16 chiefdoms in the district.
She said from classes 1-3 each child will be entitled to five exercise books and other learning items, classes 4-6 will get five exercise books of eighty pages each, JSS 1-3 will get six exercise books of one hundred and twenty pages each.
She warned school authorities to refrain from depriving the children of the school materials and spoke about a monitoring team comprising ministry officials and partners that will ensure the items do not end up in the black market.
“Any parent, teacher or school head that is caught selling those items will face the law,’’ she said.
Kamara said the government is spending a huge amount of money to buy the school materials and people should be vigilant as the package also comprises pens, pencils and other materials meant for the pupils and teachers in government schools.
There are twenty centres in the district that will serve as distribution points for the various schools spread out. Four of the centres are in Kenema city.
Kamara said the exercise will last for fourteen days uninterrupted and will start simultaneously targeting schools at the chiefdom level. She thanked their partners that have opted to support the ministry with transportation.
She advised the Conference of Principals and Head Teachers Council to warn their teachers against the sale of those school materials and to ensure that they go by the distribution metrics given to them.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (28/02/22)
