EDUCATION SECTOR IN CRISIS
By Ibrahim Alusine Kamara (Kamalo)
Sierra Leone’s education sector, widely regarded as the flagship achievement of President Julius Maada Bio’s administration, is facing mounting challenges, as recurring examination controversies, poor conditions of service for teachers and lecturers, declining educational standards, delayed school subsidies and persistent conflicts within universities threaten to undermine the gains of the government’s much-publicised Free Quality School Education initiative.
Despite the significant expansion in school enrolment since the introduction of the programme in 2018, growing concerns over the quality of education, institutional management and the welfare of educators continue to raise serious questions about the sustainability of President Bio’s education agenda.
Particularly disturbing is the year-on-year withholding of examination results by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), a situation that continues to create uncertainty for thousands of pupils and parents across the country. In the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), approximately 47,454 candidates reportedly had their results withheld over suspected examination malpractice, while hundreds of others faced additional administrative difficulties.
Although WAEC has a responsibility to safeguard examination integrity, the recurring nature and scale of these controversies have exposed serious weaknesses in examination supervision, school administration and regulatory oversight. The situation has also raised questions about why successive interventions have failed to adequately address the problem.
Equally concerning is the seemingly endless struggle between the government and teachers over improved conditions of service, salaries, subsidies and other welfare commitments. Year after year, disagreements over remuneration and financial obligations continue to strain relations between the authorities and the teaching profession, with teachers repeatedly demanding improved treatment despite their central role in delivering the government’s education agenda.
The recurring disputes over school subsidies and other financial commitments have further exposed weaknesses in the funding and administration of the education system, leaving school authorities struggling to meet operational demands and maintain effective teaching and learning environments.
Meanwhile, concerns over declining educational standards continue to overshadow the government’s achievements in expanding access to schooling. Although enrolment has increased considerably, critics argue that overcrowded classrooms, inadequate teaching materials, poor supervision, insufficient infrastructure and weak learning outcomes are undermining the quality of education being delivered.
For many education stakeholders, the emphasis on enrolment figures without corresponding improvements in academic performance, literacy, numeracy and teaching standards raises fundamental questions about whether the Free Quality School Education programme is achieving its intended objectives.
The situation is equally troubling at the tertiary level, where recurring disagreements between university lecturers and the government over salaries, allowances and improved conditions of service have repeatedly threatened academic stability.
In September 2026, university lecturers embarked on industrial action over demands for improved remuneration and revised conditions of service, further exposing the longstanding welfare challenges confronting higher education institutions.
Compounding these difficulties are persistent tensions between university administrations and the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education over institutional governance, administrative authority and other management-related issues. These recurring disagreements have raised concerns about university autonomy, effective leadership and the stability of institutions expected to produce the country’s future professionals and national leaders.
Rather than concentrating exclusively on academic excellence, research, innovation and institutional development, some universities appear increasingly preoccupied with administrative disagreements and disputes that risk undermining their core responsibilities.
The combined effect of these challenges is creating growing uncertainty over the future of Sierra Leone’s education system and the legacy President Bio hopes to establish through his flagship education programme.
While the President deserves recognition for prioritising education and expanding opportunities for thousands of children from disadvantaged backgrounds, critics maintain that increased enrolment alone cannot constitute a successful education revolution when the quality of learning, welfare of teachers and stability of educational institutions remain serious concerns.
The government’s repeated inability to conclusively resolve longstanding disputes involving teachers, lecturers, school financing and university governance has also raised questions about policy coordination and the effectiveness of the ministries responsible for managing the sector.
Of particular concern is the apparent disconnect between the government’s ambitious education commitments and the realities confronting schools, teachers, pupils and tertiary institutions across the country.
With substantial public resources and political attention devoted to education over the years, Sierra Leoneans are increasingly entitled to demand measurable improvements in academic standards, examination integrity, institutional accountability and the overall quality of graduates entering the labour market.
Education remains central to President Bio’s development agenda, but the persistence of these challenges threatens to overshadow the achievements recorded since the introduction of Free Quality School Education.
Unless the government takes decisive steps to address the recurring WAEC controversies, improve teachers’ and lecturers’ conditions of service, ensure timely school subsidies, strengthen educational standards and resolve governance disputes within universities, the country’s education system risks sliding further into institutional instability.
For President Bio, the stakes are particularly high. His education legacy will ultimately be judged not by the number of pupils enrolled in schools, but by the quality of education delivered, the competence of graduates produced and the strength of the institutions entrusted with shaping Sierra Leone’s future.
What was intended to become one of the administration’s greatest achievements could instead emerge as one of its most serious disappointments if the mounting problems confronting the sector are allowed to persist.
