The Present Day Status of Sierra Leone:
Sierra Leone is a country that is gifted with natural resources such as a fertile agricultural land; a sea rich in fishes and other marine products; air, abundant sunlight and rainfall; minerals and human resources. Sadly enough, despite all these natural resources, the majority of the people of Sierra Leone live in abject poverty - they are absolutely poor. People's feet and hands are being amputated, houses are looted and burnt, minerals - especially diamonds - are being mined and taken out of the country, by rebels and rebel collaborators. Thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) continue to suffer in displaced camps where hygiene (particularly toilet facilities) is a complete disaster. Many more Sierra Leoneans suffer as refugees in neighbouring Guinea, Liberia and other countries. Almost one-half of the country still remain under rebel control, including the diamond rich district of Kono.

A large percentage of the population is unemployed, parading the streets of the capital city, Freetown and other large towns, such as Bo and Kenema (which are not under rebel control). United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) is still waiting to deploy in rebel-held territories. Salaries of government workers are very low compared with the present cost of living. Strikes and threats of strikes by government workers against delayed payment of salaries have become rather common. Indiscipline in schools today. There are several broken marriages/homes, and many street children without caring parents.

The problems identified above did not spontaneously occur overnight, they developed slowly and gradually over a long period of time.

Why Sierra Leone is where it is today?
Several Factors are responsible for the present state of affairs in Sierra Leone. The most important factors will be examined under the following subheadings:

• Inappropriate education and mass illiteracy
• Ineffective forms of Governance (Bad governance)
• Economic factors
• Tribalism and regionalism
• Poor medical facilities
• Economic factors
• The rebel war.

Inappropriate Education and Mass Illiteracy:
British Colonial administration in Sierra Leone started as far back as 1808, and continued up to 1961 when the country regained independence. During this period, the British were mainly interested in our raw materials such as palm kernel, cocoa, coffee and mineral resources - iron ore, diamonds and gold. The type of education that was given to a few Sierra Leoneans was the kind that was necessary to help the colonial masters in their administrative work. Much emphasis was placed on bookish memorization, at the expense of learning by doing.

Rather unfortunately for Sierra Leone, this system of education continued even after independence. Practical aspects have been steadily ignored, thereby slowly and silently developing in the learners negative attitudes towards any form of practical work. The desire for white color job and the resultant rural exodus to the cities are clear indicators of the non-appropriateness of the type of education given to the Sierra Leoneans. Thus, the educational system neglected a greater percentage of the young people in schools, thereby creating dropouts, delinquents, unemployables and potential rebels. Even with the non-appropriate education, only a small percentage of Sierra Leoneans can afford to send their children to school due to the high cost involved in school fees, uniform, books and extra charges which are usually very high.

This situation has led to mass illiteracy, ignorance and poverty. It is a fact that an illiterate population cannot develop beyond subsistence level.

Ineffective forms of governance:
Since 1967, general elections in Sierra Leone have not been free and fair. Thuggery and intimidation of voters have been very common. In addition, Sierra Leone has experienced several coups ad counter-coups which have contributed in keeping investors away from Sierra Leone. As a result, most of the government representative so elected or selected do not bother to seek the interest of the people they are supposed to represent. This is evident in the corruption practised in government ministries and parastatals, since there is no effective monitoring system to ensure Transparency and Accountability. Political authorities over the years have paid little attention towards the creation of social and economic opportunities for the underprivileged classes, leading to an overall increase in poverty. Extreme poverty and mass illiteracy are a sure recipe for chaos in any country.

Economic Factors:
The lack of employment opportunities such as local industries or factories, to process our raw materials, has contributed largely to poverty and the present chaos in Sierra Leone. Low salaries and their delayed payment to government workers have made life very miserable for them, especially so when the extended family members depend on these government employees for their livelihood. Low agricultural productivity has led to food shortage, low exports and a heavy dependence on imports including even our staple food, rice.

Tribalism and Regionalism:
The belief that one's own tribe is superior to all other tribes has led to damaging conflicts have resulted to the loss of lives and properties. There is a good number of highly placed public officials who prefer to put less qualified people in key positions simply because they are of the same tribe (or form the same region). The better qualified but of a different become highly frustrated as a result.

Poor Medical Facilities:
The lack of proper and adequate medical facilities particularly in the rural areas of Sierra Leone has had a negative effect on agricultural productivity and other areas of production leading to poverty.

The Rebel War:
The current rebel war in Sierra Leone, to a large extend, is due to the very low investment the Sierra Leone Society has made in its children of yesterday. The little attention paid towards education by previous governments over the past years, combined with the bookish type of education, laid a solid foundation for any rebel leader to have a large following of drop outs, delinquents and unemployable youths.

How do we get Sierra Leone out of where it is today?
Appropriate Education is the best approach to get Sierra Leone out of where it is today. This involves the proper training of teachers in Technical/Vocational subject areas, the building of more schools and poly-technique/ vocational institutes, the provision of adequate equipment, furniture and other learning materials, regular payment of meaningful salaries and encouraging conditions of service for government workers, the introduction of a realistic free basic education and increased government grant-in-aid to the middle level manpower vocational institutions, the promotion and funding of functional adult literacy programmes, the encouragement of non-governmental organisations to assist in the education of the children in Sierra Leone; and the inclusion of "HONESTY, UNITY and HELPFULNESS" as a subject in the curriculum of every educational institution in Sierra Leone.

The establishment of industries to process raw materials will provide employment and bring in foreign exchange. Proper monitoring of public officials will greatly help to wipe our corruption, thereby promoting efficiency and national development. However the most pressing need for now is to end the REBEL WAR in Sierra Leone.

Augusta Biyah Sellu
Higher Teachers Certificate Programme - First Year
Port Loko Teachers College

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