By Mahmud Tim Kargbo
In Sierra Leone, education must be understood not merely as a pathway to employment but as the foundation for freedom, civic duty and responsible citizenship. The 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone recognises education as a means to build a just society: Section 9(1)(a) affirms that every citizen is to be given the opportunity to be educated to the best of their ability, aptitude and inclination through educational facilities at all levels, including primary, secondary, vocational, technical, college and university(http//www.parliament.gov.sl/uploads/acts/THE%20CONSTITUTION%20OF%20SIERRA-LEONE%201991.pdf). Yet the central question remains whether our current politically propagated human capital schooling system is cultivating citizens who understand that liberty without responsibility is chaos in disguise.
The Meaning of Liberty and Responsibility
The challenge of modern education is not unique to Sierra Leone. In 1983, a report titled A Nation at Risk by the Reagan administration in the United States warned that “if an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war.” That warning echoes painfully true in Sierra Leone. The danger we face is not from foreign powers but from complacency and moral surrender within our own classrooms.
To educate for freedom is to educate for responsibility. John Locke observed in Some Thoughts Concerning Education that “the business of education is not to make the young perfect in any one of the sciences, but to open and dispose their minds as may best make them capable of any when they shall apply themselves to it.” Locke’s insight is as relevant to Freetown as it is to Oxford: without disciplined minds, there can be no disciplined society.
The Sierra Leonean Education Dilemma
The government’s Free Quality School Education (FQSE) policy has expanded access, yet many Sierra Leoneans now question whether increased enrolment has improved learning outcomes. According to Afrobarometer, almost three-quarters (73 per cent) of Sierra Leoneans say they or a family member have benefited from the policy, but only slightly more than half (53 per cent) believe the quality of education has improved somewhat or a lot (http//www.afrobarometer.org/publication/ad378-majority-sierra-leoneans-universal-free-education-call-greater-investment).
UNICEF reports that only eight per cent of Grade 3 pupils in Sierra Leone can read a simple text, revealing a deep learning crisis that limits national potential (http//www.unicef.org/innocenti/innocenti/stories/addressing-learning-crisis-sierra-leone). The World Bank’s Human Capital Index places Sierra Leone at 0.36, meaning a child born today will reach only 36 per cent of their productive potential if current education and health conditions persist (http//www.documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/991441623650002503/pdf/Sierra-Leone-Public-Expenditure-Reviews-2021-Primary-and-Secondary-Education.pdf).
Behind these statistics are visible realities: overcrowded classrooms, underpaid teachers, fragile infrastructure and a culture that rewards certificates more than competence. According to Awoko Newspaper, some rural schools still operate with one qualified teacher for more than sixty pupils (http//www.awokonewspapersl.com/sierra-leones-education-system-faces-challenges-amid-enrollment-surge).
This situation has produced a generation of students aware of their rights but untrained in their duties. They are free in name yet bound by dependency. The same post-war culture of entitlement that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) warned against is quietly returning through the classroom.
Lessons from the TRC: Civic Values and Accountability
The TRC Report cautioned that Sierra Leone’s civil conflict was partly born from decades of bad governance, civic neglect and a culture of impunity. It called for moral and civic education to rebuild public responsibility and promote a sense of belonging (http//www.sierraleonetrc.org/index.php).
Today, as the government of President Julius Maada Bio celebrates the expansion of access to schooling, we must also ask whether we are truly nurturing civic-minded young people who value integrity, sacrifice and service. If our schools fail to teach the responsibilities that accompany freedom, we risk raising a generation disconnected from the struggles of their ancestors and indifferent to the nation’s collective progress.
If the present education system is as effective as we are led to believe, one must ask: how many children of those currently occupying positions of public trust attend schools under the Free Quality Education initiative? The answer to that question will reveal whether our government officials genuinely believe in the system they praise, or whether it has become another political slogan rather than a sustainable national commitment to quality and equality in education.
Teachers, Curriculum and the Soul of a Nation
Teachers are not merely transmitters of knowledge; they are custodians of national conscience. Yet, as the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) recently lamented, teacher absenteeism, bribery and examination malpractice continue to erode public trust (http//www.sierraloaded.sl/news/mbsse-raises-serious-concerns-over-challenges-current-school-system).
To rebuild education for freedom, Sierra Leone must re-imagine both the curriculum and the teacher’s role. We need an education that teaches critical thinking rather than memorisation, citizenship rather than privilege, and service rather than selfish ambition.
Educational reform should focus on three pillars:
Responsibility before rights: pupils must learn that citizenship demands duty to family, community and state before entitlement to privileges.
Merit and excellence: schools should reward discipline and hard work, not political connection or corruption.
Civic-mindedness: education must instil patriotism, ethical behaviour and a shared national vision.
The Government’s Commitment and the Way Forward
President Julius Maada Bio’s New Direction and Big Five agendas have made education a central pillar of national development. The government’s investment is significant, yet the Audit Service Sierra Leone reports repeatedly highlight weaknesses in expenditure control and accountability that must be urgently addressed if education is to fulfil its promise.
UNICEF’s Situation Analysis confirms that poverty, distance and gender inequality continue to limit access to quality learning (http//www.unicef.org/sierraleone/media/2351/file/UNICEF-Sierra-Leone-SitAn-Main-Report.pdf). UNESCO’s Sierra Leone Education Innovation Challenge demonstrates how targeted investment and accountability can enhance foundational learning and improve outcomes for girls (http//www.unesco.org/en/early-childhood-education/enhancing-learning-outcomes-sierra-leone-sierra-leone-education-innovation-challenge).
Moving forward, Sierra Leone must adopt rigorous monitoring and community participation models where parents, local councils and alumni act as watchdogs to prevent corruption and ensure every Leone invested reaches the pupil.
Liberty’s True Reward
As the nation aspires to prosperity, we must remember that freedom without moral discipline breeds disorder. Aristotle taught that virtuous citizens are the true strength of the polis. John Stuart Mill argued that liberty requires moral and social responsibility. These truths remain timeless.
Education that teaches pupils their rights without their obligations produces citizens who demand endlessly but serve sparingly. Education for freedom, by contrast, builds a people ready to protect justice, preserve peace and defend the Republic’s values.
Our national progress depends not on how many children enter school, but on how many leave school ready to serve Sierra Leone with honesty and excellence. The Constitution demands it: Section 13(1)(b) declares that every citizen shall cultivate a sense of nationalism and patriotism so that loyalty to the State shall override sectional, ethnic or other loyalties (http//www.parliament.gov.sl/uploads/acts/THE%20CONSTITUTION%20OF%20SIERRA-LEONE%201991.pdf). The Truth and Reconciliation Commission reminded us of it when, in Volume Two, Chapter 3, Recommendation 82, it held that “all citizens should be equally entitled to the rights, privileges and benefits of citizenship. They should be equally subject to the duties and responsibilities of citizenship” (http//www.sierraleonetrc.org/downloads/Volume2Chapter3.pdf).
History will judge us by this measure. True freedom is not found in the classroom certificate but in the conscience of the educated citizen who uses knowledge to uplift the nation.
