Sierra Leone Telegraph: 4 September 2019:
Members of the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU), yesterday met with president Julius Maada Bio at State House, where they discussed the role of the country’s teachers in the successful delivery of the government’s Free Quality Education programme.
Presenting the visiting team, Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education – Alpha Osman Timbo, said the teachers’ union is renewing its commitment to meeting the president once in a while, to discuss matters relating to the teaching profession and the general aspirations of the government.
President of the SLTU – Mohamed Salieu Bangura (Photo above), recalled that in their meeting with the president last year, they assured the president of their readiness to work with the government in ensuring the success of the Free Quality Education Programme.
Bangura said they are happy that Sierra Leone is one of the few countries in Africa that has taken up the challenge of providing Free Quality Education as a means of developing national human capital.
He said that the Union is meeting the president again at the start of a new school year of Free Quality Education to recommit themselves as drivers of the government’s flagship programme, and to ask government to provide them with the necessary tools to successfully wage the war against illiteracy in the country.
“We appreciate government’s efforts so far and expect more to be done in this journey of realising our dreams as a nation. We remain optimistic with government’s assurance that teachers are important component in the development of Sierra Leone and that government will work with our Union to ensure that teachers, who spend their lives building this nation, live in comfort,” he said.
In his response, president Julius Maada Bio said that he is happy to meet with teachers, who play a great role in building an informed and intellectual society.
He said his government is well aware of the needs of teachers, and assured them that the government is actively looking into ways to further improve teachers’ welfare.
The president commended the teachers for their service in building the future of the country and encouraged them to continue their good work.
There has been a lot of looking into and talking about the issue of teachers’ welfare in the recent past. And President Bio’s response of continuing in that vein is not very encouraging. Instead of continuing “actively” looking, it’s high time we progress to implementation stage for a package that will address the issue of teachers’ welfare.
One cannot talk of quality education, whether free or otherwise, without making adequate provision for the welfare of those who will deliver the education.