By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
The Government of Sierra Leone is set to ensure renovation of some 538 (five hundred and thirty eight) Primary Schools nationwide by providing Le 29.7 billion (twenty nine billion old Leones) grant for the exercise.
Government and government-assisted primary schools in all sixteen districts in the country are receiving the grant.
A breakdown at regional level of the number of schools to be renovated: East 125 (one hundred and twenty five), North 134 (one hundred and thirty four), North-west 97 (ninety seven), South 123 (one hundred and twenty three), Western Area Urban 28 (twenty eight), and Western Area Rural 31 (thirty one).
Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Dr. David Moinina Sengeh said the schools selected were those with dire maintenance and repair needs that affect their operations as assessed in the 2021 Annual School Census report.
He pointed out that schools with significant damages received the sum of 69,900,000.00 (Sixty Nine Million, Nine Hundred Thousand Old Leones) equivalent US$ 5,000 (five thousand United States Dollars) each, at the time of disbursement.
He added that, smaller schools received Le 27,960,000.00 (Twenty Seven Million, Nine Hundred and Sixty Thousand Old Leones), USD $2,000 (two thousand United States Dollars) equivalent each.
He said the support is to make the school environment safe, conducive for teaching and learning, and accessible to persons with special needs, by improving the school infrastructure.
He said the government will continue to support public schools, including payment of subsidies and operational costs, provision of basic teaching and learning materials, performance-based financing, and improving infrastructure.
“However, these resources are inadequate to cover all the expenses and needs of beneficiary schools, especially the aspect of renovation/maintenance, hence the grant. MBSSE (ie Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education) also provides Performance Based Financing (PBF) grants to schools,” he said.
He said the grant-receiving schools are to replace damaged furniture, fix or replacement roof panels or floors, rehabilitate Water system, and provide hygiene and sanitation facilities. He further said the renovation grant will enhance the pace of repairs and maintenance in schools.
He recalled how MBSSE in February, 2022 provided guidelines on the use of the grant and also trained all School Management Committees (SMCs), including Head Teachers, Local Council Engineers and the Free Education Project Clerks of Works. The minister said t they are monitoring utilization of the funds by the Free Education Project Secretariat at MBSSE, through the local councils, and the communities.
The Government of Sierra Leone Free Education Project / Multi-Donor Trust Fund is implemented by MBSSE through the Free Education Project Secretariat, to improve management of the educational system, teaching practices and learning conditions. It is supported by the World Bank (IDA), European Union, Irish Aid, Foreign Commonwealth Development Office, and the Global Partnership for Education.
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