Today, 9th of May is Europe Day. This day is celebrated across the world, and one of the focus for this year’s celebration is on Youth Empowerment as this is the European Year of Youths.
For us at the National Authorising Office (NAO) to mark this year’s Europe Day celebration, we are throwing light on EU’s Support to the Education Sector in Sierra Leone through its project called “Support to the Education Sector in Sierra Leone” (SESSiL) to showcase how much this support has positioned and empowers youths in the education sector in Sierra Leone.
The Support to the Education Sector in Sierra Leone has helped to improve the management and delivery of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Sierra Leone. This has involved the mapping of TVET institutions and provide a structure for better coordination within the sector. The project has supported the Murialdo Institute of Management and Technology in Freetown, the Eastern Polytechnic in Kenema, the St. Josephs Technical Institute in Lunsar and the Government Technical Institute in Kissy where a huge number of our youths have been trained and some now own businesses, gainfully employed and are contributing to society.
In December, 2016, a multi-annual European Union (EU) programme was launched to support the education sector in Sierra Leone where research has shown that Sierra Leone’s development is constrained by the poor quality of education, coupled with low levels of management and absorptive capacity have made this sector one of the key challenges for the future of Sierra Leone.
The EU’s support to the sector aims to improve access to high quality learning in Sierra Leone, in line with the Government’s education strategy and in partnership with the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE), the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education, the Teacher Service Commission (TSC), decentralised authorities and Teacher Training Colleges in selected Districts.
The EU’s support to the sector also aims to improve access to high quality learning in Sierra Leone, which is in line with the Government’s education strategy. It has been proven that a better educated youths in any society is more likely to prosper in all areas. Strengthening the TVETs through the national education management system will improve the lives of youths at local and national levels.
The rehabilitation and upgrading of targeted junior secondary schools under the SESSiL programme has contributed to the provision of schools to meet the growing education demand in rural Sierra Leone which also include wash facilities, science labs, new furniture and learning materials. It has also reduced the urban-rural education divide, as well as urban drift.
As NAO celebrates Europe Day this year, there is need to highlight the results of this EU Support Programme in line with the New Direction Government’s flagship programme “Free Quality School Education”.
As a result, the NAO has spoken to beneficiaries of the EU funded SESSiL projects so they can narrate their stories and also explain how these EU funded projects have impacted their lives and the education sector in the country, through a five minutes video documentary that has been circulated on various social media platforms and aired on national TV.
To watch this short video you can visit our Facebook page @NAOSIERRALEONE
Hashtag: #EuropeDay
At the National Authorising Office we continue to facilitate Government of Sierra Leone and European Union development projects for the benefit of Sierra Leonean Citizens.
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