Education Minister Markets Salone

Minister of Education, Youth and Sport, Dr. Minkailu Bah has at the 35th session of the UNESCO General Conference in Paris marketed the country, giving a full outfit of the country’s prospect to growth and investment possibilities to the rest of the world gathered in France.

The Minister mentioned the significant progress his Government in terms of informing development partners about government’s efforts towards achieving the Education for All (EFA) goal. Dr Bah spoke on government’s commitment to improve teacher education in a general bid to attain quality education in primary and basic education at secondary school levels. 

He highlighted challenges including Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and the general capacity constraints in all aspects of the education sector, particularly the Higher Education and tertiary institutions which he described as being in “difficult circumstances.”

In the Information and Communication sector, the Minister explained that Government has encouraged the growth of a free press and that there are several private radio, print and television outfits all over the country. Government is planning to design a long-term program on information and communication in Sierra Leone, with a focus on developing a national communications strategy, training of journalists and capacity building of media practitioners.

In the area of Culture and Tourism, Dr. Bah maintained that Sierra Leone has one of the richest and most diversified cultural history and tourism potentials in Africa, ranging from the vestiges and artifacts of the slave trade to the country’s unique languages, arts and crafts.

Progress in this sector includes the conclusion of a revised national Culture Policy which provides for vocational skills acquisition in industrial tourism. Dr. Bah further informed the gathering about Government’s plans to rehabilitate the old Fourah Bay College (FBC) site, and designate it as a Pan African Centre for Peace and Social Cohesion.

Government’s plan for Fourah Bay College together with other projected programmes in the Education and Culture as well as Information and Communication sectors will as a matter of fact form part of an overall special package of assistance that UNESCO has agreed to put together for Sierra Leone under its post conflict assistance programme.

Dr. Minkailu Bah led a four-man delegation including Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium and Head of Delegation to the European Union and United Nations Educational Scientific Organization (UNESCO), Dr Christian Sheka Kargbo, the Head of Chancery, Haja Fatmatta Wurie and the Deputy Director of Higher Education, Mrs Musu Gorvie.

The General Conference, consisting of Ministers, Permanent Delegates and other high level officials involved in UNESCO activities at the national level, meets biennially to determine the organization’s policies, programmes and budget.  The General Conference elects the members of the Executive Board and holds elections for membership of various subsidiary organs. After every four years, it also elects the Director-General of UNESCO. In this regard, with the conclusion of the second term of Koichiro Matsuura from Japan, Madam Irina Bokova of Bulgaria is poised to assume the organization’s reins as the next Director General.

The various Heads of delegations, including the Sierra Leone Minister of Education bestowed accolades on the outgoing Director-General, Koichiro Matsuura citing his dedication, his resolve, and his vision as well as crediting him with the remarkable impact the organization has made over the last decade.

In the same vein the delegations saluted the incoming Director General not only because she is going to be the first female Director General but more so in consideration of her demonstrated capacity to bridge differences and her strong leadership capabilities.

The importance of the message to UNESCO from the Hon. Minister of Education was that Sierra Leone requires strong collaboration in order to address the capacity and resource constraints impeding its social, educational, cultural.

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