Education Issues

In Sierra Leone it is a legal requirement for all children to attend primary school from the age of six, but this will never be achieved if changes aren't made. During the 11 year civil war 1,270 schools were destroyed and looted and in 2002 67% of school-aged children weren't enrolled.

The government acknowledges that education is an important part in developing a brighter future for Sierra Leone, but they just don’t have the money, resources and infrastructure to build schools and give out educational materials.  

At this moment in time half a million children in Sierra Leone do not attend school, that is 1 out of 3 children, and this is resulting in a generation full of illiterate, unemployed people with no skills. Communities are suffering from this; at this rate Sierra Leone will not achieve the Millennium Development Goal of developing global partnerships. 

Many girls are excluded from receiving the little education they are entitled to; this is because of traditional beliefs, poverty, lack of gender sensitive facilities and sexual violence. These are just a few of the many obstacles that girls are facing surrounding education.

Teenage pregnancy and child marriage are stopping young women getting the education they deserve; only 15% of girls will reach secondary school. Sierra Leone has one of the highest adolescent pregnancy rates in whole world, which is why most girls will drop out of school before they are 15. This is a contributing factor to the high infant and child mortality rate the country has.

In Sierra Leone 62% of girls are married before they are 18, many getting married as young as 11 years old. This locks women into a life of imprisonment; where they are controlled by their husbands, have no opportunities to get jobs, be financially secure and to obtain an education.



 The lack of education is affecting the health and well being of all young children in Sierra Leone, with many of them not even knowing with HIV/AIDS even is. The children that do receive education are taught how to look after themselves, physically and financially. But over 40% of school teachers are unqualified, and are known to sexually abuse some students. UNICEF provides much needed teacher training and support groups, but this is still not enough.