Esther's school escapes disgrace

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Twelve-year-old Esther, a grade six pupil of Madonna Primary School  in Bo, southern Sierra Leone is now happy in school. Her school is one of the beneficiaries of a 168-classroom Project funded by UKAID and implemented by World Vision in Sierra Leone. The Reduce Overcrowding in Schools Project was implemented in Kono, Bo, Bonthe and Kambia.

Esther believes her school escaped disgrace because of the 168 classrooms constructed by World Vision. ‘’We thank DFID and World Vision for this beautiful building. If they hadn’t constructed this building, maybe by now, we would have been disgraced. Our school was really overcrowded,'' she says.

This project was borne  out of The Government of Sierra Leone's investigation into the poor performance of pupil in public examinations in 2008, when a Professor Gbamanja Commission of Enquiry was set up across the country.

The report suggested that overcrowding in schools was one of the many reasons children performed poorly in public examinations. Noise levels increased,  children were uncomfortable and couldn't concentrate mostly in classes of up to 100 capacity, good hygiene was threatened.

Additionally, Ebola presented a very good justification for extending classrooms in schools. With Ebola spreading so quickly through direct contact with bodily fluids, having children in choked classrooms became a health hazard. So UKAID had to speed up the availability of funds that saw the construction of these schools which were dusted and handed over to the Ministry of Education Science and Technology. Children across the country includingEsther are utilizing the facility provided by UKAID.

At the initial stage of the Project, erecting these school structures was key priority. But as time went on, it became expedient to have sitting accommodation as well. So classrooms built were also furnished with desks and benches.

For Esther's school, a three classroom block with office space and store was constructed and is being utilized by grade six pupils.Grade six is a very important stage in the lives of Sierra Leonean children. This is the stage where they take the National Primary School Certificate Education Examination (NPSE) in order to transition into high school. Concentration, comfortability is key to this stage. If pupils are not well prepared at this stage, they will miss out when they would have transitioned to high school. But imagine a well prepared grade six pupil making it to high school!



Esther reveals the ordeals they (pupils) where going through. ‘’In the past (before the construction and furnishing of Madonna school), we used to sit on the floor for lack of furniture. And the classrooms were very tight. But now we have so much space. We can see clearly on the blackboard. We no longer sit on the floor, and our uniforms don’t get dirty anymore.’’

The Reduce Overcrowding in Schools Project is not only tackling the problems of low concentration levels, noise and tight classrooms, but it is also remedying the situation of shift systems which has been a product of overcrowding in schools.

Most schools in Sierra Leone cannot go without a shift system unless there is enough accommodation. Those at the late shift are at a disadvantaged position. A lot  of pupils grapple with attending classes during odd hours when they should have been at home taking a nap and/ or getting prepared for the next day's lessons. For pupils who cover long distances to school, they return home at night and tired after late shift classes.
For those pupils living in the capital, Freetown, traffic congestion is a whole new topic for hours' discussion.

This boost to Madonna school is a big promoter of girls' education which many Non-Governmental organizations including World Vision is been asking for (among other things) in advocacy campaigns relating to the well-being and future of the girl child. Madonna Primary school is one hundred per cent girls school with a roll of almost 800 from grades 1 to six.

Quite recently, World Vision joined the African Union and other like-minded organizations in campaign to end early and forced marriage in Sierra Leone thereby encouraging girls’ education which will produce much fruits in the nation of Sierra Leone in years to come.

World Vision believes children (both boys and girls) are a national asset and must be invested in.