What Is Free About The Free Education?

Sierra Leonean parents and guardians are raising serious concerns relating to the specifications made by President Bio (in photo) on that launching ceremony of a free education that turned out to be a “compulsory pledging ceremony,’’ which is a complete mismatch in connection with what was said in his campaign manifesto.

According to the list of approved prices published by the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, the reason why most parents/guardians are currently devastated is the fact that the items their children/wards are supposed to receive free of cost have been itemized with costs apportioned on them. It has been vividly displayed as follows;

• The total cost for boys in respect of badge, neck tie with two sets of uniforms is Le170,000;
• Girls (JSS Muslim Schools), the total cost for Hijab, badge and two sets of uniforms is Le180,000;
• JSS Christian Schools is Le205,000 comprising of beret and crest, belt and two sets of uniforms:
• SSS Christian schools is Le260,000 entailing felt hat and hat band, belt and two sets of uniforms, and
• SSS Muslim schools for Girls is Le175,000 which comprises Hijab and two sets of uniforms.

The salient question that the suffering electorates are posing is “are they for sale or what”?

They are exclaiming that if that is the case, then the Bio led SLPP government has totally acted contrary to their campaign free educational messages that were used to brainwash the electorates to vote them in under the guise of regime change.

According to reliable sources, this medium was dishearteningly informed that the cries are now raining down from all over the land by parents/guardians who now feel swindled and deluded when they are told that schools in many parts of the country are not included as they are not recognized. These are schools in some of the most deprived and needy parts of the country like the Northern Province and North-Western province. People perceive that cruel act to be a deliberate attempt to frustrate education in the North-West that has been associated with high level of illiteracy by this new direction.

“Is this the free education they promised?” the proverbial Sierra Leoneans who are closely watching the new direction in pursuit of its political dispensation at the detriment of the deprived electorates questioned.

By: Allieu Lamin Kamara

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