SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS IN SIERRA LEONE SAY MAADA BIO’S FREE EDUCATION PROGRAM IS A BIG LIE
THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF PRINCIPALS OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS AND NATIONAL COUNCIL OF HEAD TEACHERS, SIERRA LEONE.
+23276-643612/ +23278-024120 / +23276-901903/ +23276-701023
The National President, Date:……………………..
Sierra Leone Teachers’ Union (SLTU).
Dear Sir/Madam,
LETTER OF RESOLUTION
SUBJECT: A summary of the Resolutions Adopted at the Meeting of the Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools and National Council of Head Teachers Held on Monday, 25th August, 2025 Nationwide.
This letter serves as an official document of the resolutions conceded during the meeting of the Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools and the National Council of Head Teachers held on Monday, 25th August, 2025 at various locations in the sixteen (16) judicial districts of the country. The meeting was organized by the executives of the National Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools (NCPSS) and the National Council of Head Teachers (NaCoHT).
The meeting gravitated all School Principals and Head Teachers across the country, including representatives from the Sierra Leone Teachers’ Union (SLTU), Coordinators of Free Quality School Education (FQSE) Secretariat, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), PROSEC, Deputy Director from the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) and the press. The background of the meeting was to deliberate on critical issues affecting the education sector.
The meeting was a concurrent meeting that had one National Agenda and with almost the same resolutions. The National Agenda topics were as follows:
1. Nonpayment of 2nd and 3rd term fee subsidies,
2. Deletion of the names of eligible teachers from the government payroll,
3. Lack of provision of teaching and learning materials,
4. Complexities surrounding the BECE checklist,
5. Nonpayment of Performance Based Finance (PBF) and insufficient subsidy allocation to schools,
6. Problem associated with the new curriculum leading to the forthcoming WASSCE and
7. Discrepancies in the Salary Scale of Promoted Teachers and School Leaders.
It could be recalled that, for the past two academic years, school leaders have been going through a lot in trying to keep schools running regardless of the lack of the necessary support needed to run an effective school.
However, it is no secret that since the pronouncement of the Free Quality School Education, primary school leaders have been finding it difficult to run schools on the basic Ten Leones (NLe 10) pays by the government as subsidy per child. Looking at the running cost of school in a term, Ten Leones (NLe 10) cannot be sufficient in any way to run a whole term. Similarly, the Fifty Leones (NLe 50) and Sixty Leones (NLe 60) respectively pay for the JSS and SSS sectors cannot be measured up with the current financial circumstances in the country. For instance, in 2018 when the Free Quality School Education was launched, a packet of chalk was going for Five Leones (NLe 5) but today it is Twenty Leones (NLe 20). Also, a Catton of chalk at that time was sold at Two hundred and Fifty Leones, but today, it costs One Thousand Leones (NLe 1000) in the market. Register was Seven Leones (NLe 7) and today it is Thirty-Five Leones (NLe 35). Couple with this economic downturn, we are demanding an increment in the payment of subsidies for all sectors ranging from pre-primary, primary, Junior and Senior Secondary sectors.
Of recent, with all the horrendous challenges school leaders and teachers are navigating, about five thousand (5000) teachers were suspended from the payroll, and many of those teachers are not supposed to be suspended because they are actively teaching in their respective schools. In this regard, we are demanding that those teachers that have been reverified and proven that they are active and legitimate teachers, be placed back on the payroll and be paid for the months of July and August.
Again, the 2026 WASSCE candidature per school as a whole has a lot of left out genuine candidates which if not resolved, will disadvantage a lot of first-time candidates. As such, we are also demanding for government to have a look into the issue and ask for documents to be resubmitted by senior school principals for those genuine left out candidates before the CASS process commences because it will be alarming than last year if it is not looked into.
It is believed that, anytime soon, the portal for WASSCE CASS will be opened for schools to carry out the WASSCE process but we are yet to know which curriculum we will be doing the WASSCE CASS process on, and if this remains so, it will be difficult for us to be able to adequately prepare the candidates for the forthcoming WASSCE. So, we are asking for the government to clear the air on this through press release for the attention of the general public.
Finally, for approximately two years now, some teachers have been reassessed and got promoted as senior teachers and also some school leaders have been promoted as substantive principals and vice principals and all necessary documentations have been put in place, but up to now, they have not been put on their right scales. We are requesting for government to ensure that those teachers promoted as senior teachers, substantive principals and vice, are put on their right scales since it is their right. They cannot be called substantive principals or senior teachers but their earnings cannot match up with their titles.
With all those highlighted impediments above, the Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools (CPSS) and the National Council of Head Teachers (NaCoHT) conducted concurrent
consultative meetings nationwide and cataloged the following resolutions representing a national decision of all school leaders in the sixteen (16) Judicial Districts of this country:
1. We will not go to school if subsidies for three (3) terms, that is, 2nd and 3rd terms of last academic year and 1st term of the coming 2025/2026 academic are not paid and not in any piecemeal,
2. Based on the economic challenges, we are demanding an increment in the payment of subsidies as stated below:
I. PRIMARY SECTOR: From NLe 10 to NLe 30
II. JSS SECTOR: From NLe 50 to NLe 80
III. SSS SECTOR: From NLe 60 to NLe 100
3. For effective schooling, going forward we are asking for terminal subsidies to be paid two weeks prior to the reopening of schools,
4. Schools rightfully approved by MBSSE should be included in the payment of subsidy,
5. For the past three (3) years, government has not been supplying teaching and learning materials. It is resolved that government should rebirth the supply of teaching and learning materials,
6. School feeding to be extended to all government and government assisted primary schools in districts benefiting from the school feeding project,
7. No school on September 8, 2025, if eligible teachers who have been inadvertently suspended from the payroll are not reinstated and paid for the months of July and August,
8. MBSSE to revisit the BECE check for school WASSCE as many legitimate candidates have been disadvantaged from the previous list,
9. MBSSE to explicate through memo from now to the 5th September, 2025 as to which curriculum we are to sit the 2026 WASSCE on,
10. Reassessed teachers promoted as senior teachers and acting principals promoted as substantive principals be put on their right scales,
11. We resolved that government should reactivate the timely and effective payment of the Performance Based Finance (PBF),
12. We resolved that head teachers and principals on grade 9 be promoted to grade 11 and be put on their right scales,
13. It is resolved that if government is not in position to continue the payment of fees subsidies, then let the two (2) terms backlog of last academic year be paid and allow us to collect fees from parents beginning 2025/2026 academic and
14. Above all, if government does not adhere to the payment of at least 2 terms subsidies, and all of the above resolutions, we will not go to school come September 8th.
Kindly note that this venture is not an attempt to demoralize the government but a way of genuinely asking for us to be provided with what it takes for the provision of the type of quality education the government is yearning for.
For this reason, we want the government to look at this document aboveboard and ensure that its requests are expeditiously satisfied.
We look forward to hearing from you in the shortest possible time.
Faithfully yours, Signed:
………………………… ……………………..
Amos Musa Kai Joshua Alie Kamara
NCPSS Secretary General, – Sierra Leone National Secretary, NaCoHT – SL
EDORSED BY:
…………………………………….…………………………………….
Alhaji M. J Mansary Samuel Mustapha Koroma
1. President, NCPSS – Sierra Leone 2. National Chairman, NaCoHT – SL
Cc.
1. The Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education,
2. The Chief Education Officer,
3. The Commissioner, Teaching Service Commission (TSC),
4. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs),
5. National Coordinator, Free Quality School Education (FQSE),
6. Inter-Religious Council,
7. The President of SLAJ,
8. Office of National Security (ONS),
9. The Inspector General of Police (AIP) and
10. File.
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