By Politico Staff writer
The Minister of Basic and Senior School Education (MBSSE ) has announced that a cross-section of government Secondary Schools in Sierra Leone will return to a single shift this coming academic year which commences next month.
Amongst the schools mentioned to make the shift from two shifts to a single shift were the Annie Walsh Memorial School, Methodist Girls High School, St. Joseph Convent, Saint Francis Secondary School in Makeni, and Ansarul Islamic School among others.
A report by the Ministry’s Strategic Communication analyst quoted the Director of the School Quality Assurance and Resource Management (SQARM), Francess Kamara saying that children that attend schools with double shifts do not receive the same education as their peers in single-shift schools, noting that some of those students spend less time in class which could reduce the knowledge they should gain.
“Because double shift schools keep students in the classroom for less than the average school day five or six hours, as opposed to seven hours, certain subjects get reduced or maybe cut from the schedule. Also, most double shift school students do not have the opportunity to experience extracurricular activities,” said Kamara.
The Minister of Basic and Senior School Education Dr. David Moinina Sengeh also explained the situation for some schools that are overcrowded and with limited classrooms, noting that if some of those schools are changed to a single shift, they will have to reduce their enrollment every year.
He said “There are some schools currently that will take a long time to transition. Schools like United Methodist Church (UMC) School for Girls Circular Road, and Government Model Secondary School among others are already overpopulated with a limited number of classrooms. Unfortunately, there are no lands to construct more classrooms for these schools”.
The Minister highlighted that there are three districts across the country that still work on a double shift, stating Freetown to be the primary district.
He noted that some schools had changed to a single shift, and there are others that will follow suit, assuring the public that the ministry is working tirelessly in ensuring that all schools return to single shift as soon as possible.
Minister Sengeh told pressmen that with support from the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), the rehabilitation of four schools will commence in October 2022. The schools to be renovated are Prince of Wales, Government secondary school Magburaka, Bo school, and Government secondary school Kenema.
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