The National Program Coordinator of the Free Quality School Education (FQSE) program, Augustine Moses Koroma, has confirmed that all five core commitments under President Bio’s flagship education initiative have been fully delivered since its launch in 2018.
The commitments cover several key areas of support for education. They include the payment of school fees for all pupils in government and government-assisted schools from pre-primary to senior secondary level, as well as covering public examination fees. In addition, the government pledges to provide core textbooks, supply teaching and learning materials, and expand the school feeding program.
Mr. Koroma also highlighted major achievements in the education sector over the past seven years. These include the approval of 3,000 new schools, recruitment of 12,000 teachers, a rise in school enrollment from 37% to 85%, distribution of 94 containers of learning materials, construction or renovation of 538 primary schools, 367 school expansions, and a 40% increase in teacher salaries. He added that primary education expenditure has risen from 27% to 92%, with retention rates now at 129%.
Other policies driving the transformation include the Radical Inclusion Policy, School Catchment Policy, Integrated Early Childhood Development Policy, and a comprehensive School Feeding Policy.
