Problems behind Education for All (EFA): The case of Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone, one of the poorest countries in the world, experienced an 11-year civil war until 2002, and has been in the process of rebuilding the nation, including the education sector. Sierra Leone’s net enrolment ratio in primary education dropped to 41 per cent after the war (UNICEF, 2005). This is largely related to widespread poverty; about 70 per cent of the population lives in poverty with more than two-thirds of the people categorised as being in extreme poverty (the Government of Sierra Leone, 2005). The government, with about half of the national budget donor funded, has made a strong commitment to achieving compulsory basic education, along with the international goal of Education for All (EFA). This is not only because having an education is one of the basic human rights, but also because education can be one potential way to tackle poverty. Therefore, the government has had educational reforms, including the introduction of a free primary education policy and this has resulted in a rapid increase in the net enrolment ratio of primary education to 63.8 per cent. However, behind the rapid progress in terms of access to primary education, there are still more than 30 per cent of children who are not in school and primary completion rates are below 60 per cent nationally (MEST, 2007)