By Nasratu Kargbo
Members of Parliament have appealed to the newly approved Commissioners at the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) to help improve the standard of education in the country, saying standards have dropped and blamed every Sierra Leonean for the fall.
They made this call on the 16th July 2024 whilst debating on presidential nominees. They highlighted certain factors such as selling of grades and providing leakages for students and pupils amongst other things as being the reason for the drop in standards.
Some MPs were a bit reluctant to agreeing that the standards have fallen, however, majority agreed that it has fallen and that no specific government or party is to be blamed for it.
Moyamba District MP Ben Alpha Mansaray said they need to be real and honest, saying: “The problem we have is about the projection of data and falsifying reports that will deceive the President”.
He said the country’s educational standards are falling and called on the commissioners to do all their best to place the country in the same rank as other countries in the region whose education standards are high. The MP said Sierra Leone was the hub for education, which is no longer the situation, and stressed the need to reactivate and strengthen the sector.
Mansaray called on the proposed commissioners to ensure they modify the curriculum and tailor them to fit the global competitive skills. He explained that government and other personalities attract investors to the country, but that when they come even though the country has professionals from all walks of life, yet they do not give them the opportunity to occupy certain positions.
The MP said the country has a rich human capital that should be utilized, and that people should be given the opportunity to perform and serve the country.
He further stated that the commission is challenged with funds, and called for an increase in the budget that will be allocated to the institution.
The Deputy Leader of Government Business Bashiru Silikie said during their days at the university the lecturers sacrificed a lot, and did not focus on building big houses or driving the latest car.
He said that the job does not have petty cash, explaining that there are young people who have ventured into the profession, and that they compete with politicians and people from other professions which leads to them selling grades.
“That is why today we have master’s degree graduate that do not know how to write simple reports. This is a systemic problem” the Leader said.
The Speaker of Parliament Segepoh Solomon Thomas said all the challenges faced in the educational sector or all other sectors cannot be ascribed to a specific government. “Whatever we are facing as a nation is because of our responsibility as citizens of this nation, we are all to blame” the Speaker stated.
Thomas cited that some parents have the audacity to give their children money to pay for grades, whilst teachers and lecturers even organize study camps and leakage exam papers or add grades for pupils and students who did not perform well in exams.
The Speaker recalled that during the colonial days and early years after independence students from other African countries flew to Sierra Leone to pursue their education. “What went wrong ?”.
Deputy Leader of the Opposition 2 Aaron Aruna Koroma said that there are so many variations in the course contents across universities, citing that when jobs are advertised they are not done based on universities but applicants are instead interviewed based on the contents they are expected to deliver. The commissioners should ensure that they create uniformity in the course contents amongst similar programme across the institutions, he suggested.
“One thing that is also appalling is the fees discrepancies, you will see the state institutions that are receiving subvention from government have different fees structure for the same course” the Leader said.
He said the public universities are ripping the masses, citing that all of the public institutions ask for different fees. Koroma therefore called on the commissioners to review the Act and introduce policies that will ensure uniformity.
The MP emphasized the need to encourage the professors and universities in country to engage in intensive research, saying he hates to see consultancies and researches being executed by foreign nationals when the country has professors that can do same.
Professor Osman A. Sonkoh, Edna M. Jones, Dr. Lawrence S. Babawo and Haja Alimatu Abdallah were all approved as commissioners of the TEC.
Copyright © 2024 Politico (22/07/24)
