The Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) has renewed pressure on the government over unpaid school fee subsidies, warning that many schools are struggling to operate effectively as the country enters the third term of the 2025/2026 academic year.
In a reminder addressed to Vice President Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, the union said key commitments made during negotiations that ended the nationwide teachers’ strike in September 2025 remain unresolved.
According to the SLTU, part of the agreement that led to the suspension of the strike included the payment of backlog subsidies for the 2024/2025 academic year and first-term subsidies for the current school year. However, subsidies for the second and third terms for junior secondary and primary schools have still not been paid.
“We are already in the third term, with many school authorities struggling to ensure effective teaching and learning, largely without the much-needed resources expected from Government,” the union wrote.
The union also expressed concern that the joint committee established to address outstanding issues has not met since its inaugural session.
The letter was copied to the Ministers of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Finance, Employment and Labour, as well as officials of the Teaching Service Commission and the Sierra Leone Labour Congress.
The latest complaint revives tensions that triggered a nationwide teachers’ strike in September 2025, days before schools were due to reopen. The industrial action centred on unpaid subsidies, salary concerns and the suspension of teachers from the payroll.
Following negotiations chaired by Vice President Juldeh Jalloh, the SLTU suspended the strike and ordered teachers back to classrooms after the government pledged to address subsidy payments and other grievances.
At the time, government officials said funds had been transferred to commercial banks for the payment of outstanding subsidies while discussions continued on unresolved welfare issues.
However, unions and school authorities later complained that some schools had either not received the funds or had been underpaid, raising concerns over the implementation of the agreements reached after the strike.
