By Ibraheem Daramy
Few years ago, maybe four, we were rocked by the fake degree scandal, by one John Idris Lahai (PhD), as lead whistleblower. It was so topical, some prominent citizens with postgraduate degrees, including the current Clerk of the Sierra Leone Parliament, Umar Paran Tarawallie, were compelled to make some hasty adjustments to their CVs. An inquest was instituted by our legislators, putting Alhaji Kandeh Kolleh Yumkellah (PhD), now Chairman Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Food Security and Energy, to look into it. Its findings and recommendations only ended up rubber-stamping what the public already knew – that our education is in palliative care.
When the current administration came in 2018, their approach to education slammed open the floodgates. The population responded to the president’s call to develop the human capital. As a government that just took over from its staunchest enemy, they accused of being gravely indifferent to this vital sector, all they were concerned about were the numbers turning in. Well, let’s just say huge political points were scored, at least for the first few years. Support to schools then, like the payment of fees subsidies, learning and teaching materials, were regular and quite predictable – but got jetlagged the longer the plane stayed on the sky. Today, that support is not only insufficient, but also chronically irregular. I remember Alpha Osman Timbo, then Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary School Education (MBSSE) highlighting how deep the racket was at the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) food chain. This is the period that heralded an explosion that pushed Senior Schools, including less fancied ones, to the brim. I saw far older people registering for WASSCE exams. Ironically though for this time, it was the village schools that got oversubscribed – desperate people seeking entry into the university flocked those communities, leaving their basic social amenities stretched. There’s no secret this vital certificate has long been up to the highest bidder.
To be honest, with regards the recently published results at our top medical school, College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences (COMAHS), I was even left questioning why they still had a reasonable number retained to continue with their various courses. We could only get out of this national shame if the quadrangle (school authorities, parents/guardians, government and WAEC) can put an end to their marriage of convenience. I have a neighbor who had a daughter that taught in a primary school in their community. One day he returned with a receipt from a foreign exchange bureau where he’d collected money from a relative that stays abroad. He came home and got curious probably because he thought he didn’t receive the correct amount, so he gave his daughter the slip to confirm the figure. To the old man’s consternation, she told him “Papa no figure was indicated here”. He had his doubts, so he confronted me – I was able to pinpoint the figure like the flash of lightning. No wonder he got so angry at his daughter he didn’t hold back.
