Concord Times (Freetown)
Ibrahim Tarawallie
11 July 2007
Freetown — When school opens in September it will be compulsory for all girls to attend, according to a new education plan launched by President Kabbah Friday.
The plan, which he said begins this year, will run until 2015 and Kabbah said he hopes it will ensure all pupils, especially girls, will complete primary education.
"We hear doubts expressed in the international press about the ability of sub-Saharan countries to meet any of the Education For All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)," he said.
"Whilst it is true that many, including Sierra Leone may not meet all of the MDGs, we are certain that by 2015 children everywhere in Sierra Leone, boys and girls alike, will be able to achieve MDG No.2." The second MDG is primary education for all, which is also guaranteed under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Sierra Leone is a signatory.
He noted that the "Sababu" Education Project, which has built over one hundred schools in Sierra Leone, and has also supplied a million textbooks and trained teachers and school management committees, is just a forerunner of a much greater investment in education.
Theresa Johnson, a Class 5 student of St. John Primary School in Freetown, said she was not aware of the education sector plan, but she hopes that it will become reality.
She said that in the past, the government has made promises with regard to access to education that have not been accomplished.
"I hope that compulsory education for girls will be implemented," she said. "I want the materials to be available." Johnson's mother, Gloria, said she is aware of the education plan, but sceptical that it will be implemented. "I am not impressed with the government in terms of education," she said. "There are not enough materials for the children, especially the girls, and often parents have to pay extra money apart from what the government provides." She said most girls in Freetown are still unable to attend school because of expensive fees and other charges.
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