The National Programme Coordinator at the Free Quality School Education Secretariat, at the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE), Augustine Moses Tehguma Koroma, together with senior FQSE officials, ended a successful one-week nationwide familiarization tour.
Mr Koroma, who assumed office about a month ago, led the team on the tour across the sixteen districts to have firsthand assessments of the status of the scheme, interact with resident staff, engage community and education stakeholders, and identify challenges associated with the scheme.
In all the sixteen districts, the Team met with Deputy Directors of Education, the School Quality Assurance Officer, FQSE District Coordinators, School Feeding Monitors, education authorities and community stakeholders, where they thanked them for their dedication to helping President Julius Maada Bio’s roll out an ambitious FQSE scheme.
The National Programme Coordinator described President Bio as a champion of human capital development, noting that with the support of all, the scheme would positively impact national growth and the country’s human resource potential. He said he had led the Team on the visit because they wanted to initiate frank discussions with resident staff, share success stories, reaffirm the government’s commitment, and understand the challenges that beset the implementation of the scheme.
Mr Koroma noted that the School Feeding component of the FQSE has in no small measure contributed to impressively scaling up enrolments in schools, while also noting that the scheme has attracted international recognition and praise.
In another development, the Team met with the two winners of the recently held National Best Teachers’ Awards.
The Team comprised the Programme Officer, Mr. Joseph Lamin, the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer for School Feeding, Mariama Barrie; and the Director of Administration, Sorie Fofana.
The FQSE National Coordinator and Team returned to Freetown with renewed hopes and commitment to help the MBSSE achieve the Government’s overall policy objective, concerning free and quality education.
