He lamented that whenever it rains or whenever there is strong wind, the children’s books are blown away and learning is disrupted. He added that at times, the pupils are forced to flee to seek shelter in nearby houses and would not return until the wind or rain ceases which he said is disrupting their learning. “This has been the unfortunate and appalling condition the children have been facing in their learning process since 2016 when disaster struck,” he informed AYV.
He added that although the school is yet to be officially approved by the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, it has been contributing immensely to education for the past 40 years in that part of the country.
Mr. Menjor went on to state that the school had approximately three hundred and forty pupils but that this number has increased to slightly over five hundred as a result of the free quality school education introduced by the government of President Julius Maada Bio.
He informed AYV that the school serves the three main nearby villages in Sandor Chiefdom in Kono District, and has produced a number of prominent personalities now working in Sierra Leone or in the Diaspora.
He said: “Since 1974, the school has been solely run by the community. Currently staff strength is six teachers but only two are on government payroll. The rest are paid from contributions collected from parents and other local sources.”
He used the opportunity to call on the government to come to their aid and described the school children in that part of the country as vulnerable, under-privileged and in dire need of support if they are to benefit from the free quality school education initiative which started on September 17, 2018.
He also called on the government to assist the community construct a proper structure suitable for learning; approve the school and provide qualified teachers to raise the standard of learning in that part of the country, citing the strategic importance of the school which caters for a number of communities in that part of the country.
