The Executive Director of UNICEF, Catherine Russel, has assured Sierra Leone’s President, Dr. Julius Maada Bio, of their unflinching support for education in the country.
At a bilateral meeting in the wake of the Transforming Education Pre-Summit at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, she assured us of using the global UNICEF network to leverage partnerships with various stakeholders to support education in Sierra Leone.
Despite government intervention in its Free Quality Education drives that have increased school enrolment nationwide, teachers’ continual complaints about the condition of services remain challenging with negotiation between the trade unionist group and the government.
The issues of funding, infrastructure, and government meeting teachers’ demands remain obstacles that need to be removed for the achievement of quality and accessible education by all in Sierra Leone going forward.
The Executive Director of UNICEF, Catherine Russell, while praising President Bio, said, "It takes true leadership and vision to champion such a course." "Your people are lucky to have a leader like yours who is passionate about education," according to the State House Communication unit.
President Julius Maada Bio expressed the passion that led him to identify education as the most important element for sustainable development.
The President said his motivation to implement the Free Quality Education Programme and its various components, including payment of tuition fees, payment of transitional examination fees, provision of core textbooks, teaching and learning materials, school feeding, and free tuition for girls pursuing courses in the Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) at tertiary level.
Bio highlighted his radical inclusion policy which had benefited pregnant girls, and children living with disability and supported the distribution of sanitary pads to girls in schools. He called on the UNICEF Executive Director to support Sierra Leone in consolidating the many gains the country had made in education, according to the State House Communication unit.
Sierra Leone’s President said, "we want to continue to improve the quality of education, and also wants to continue to be very robust in making education inclusive in the country."
According to the State House, President Bio also held bilateral meetings with Dr. Tariq Al Gurg, the Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Cares, to explore sustainable partnerships and support for the education sector in Sierra Leone. He meets with Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen, Chief Executive Officer for LEGO Foundation, a Denmark-based philanthropic foundation dedicated to building a future where learning through play empowers children to become creative, engaged, lifelong learners.
Sierra Leone's President Dr. Julius Maada Bio and the Executive Director of UNICEF, Catherine Russel. Photo credit: State House Communication Unit.
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