Sierra Leone carries scars that have not faded, first civil war, then Ebola’s devastation. In spite of this, the president, Julius Maada Bio decided to gamble big. He saw the nation’s future not in diamond mines or iron ore deposits, but in classrooms full of children learning.
Since taking office in 2018, Bio’s government has staked its legacy on the “Free Quality School Education” (FQSE) program, a sweeping initiative that abolished school fees, trained thousands of teachers, and saw a major spike in enrollment rates. The policy was more than an education reform. It was a bet on human capital in a nation where, for too long, poverty barred generations from the classroom.
Five years in, the results are visible. The figures paint a major success. More than 1.5 million additional children now sit at school desks, girls are staying in class longer, and Sierra Leone has become an unexpected case study in Africa’s struggle to turn schooling into real opportunity. But many ask if Bio’s gamble has paid off. They question whether a country still grappling with economic strife can turn its classrooms into engines of transformation.
The Broken Ladder: Sierra Leone’s Education Crisis Before FQSE
Before Bio’s presidency, Sierra Leone’s education system was “a ladder with missing rungs”, as one education expert described it. The country’s education sector suffered a serious blow during the 11-year civil war (1991-2002). Bombs and bullets had flattened schools. Teachers fled their posts. Just as Sierra Leone began patching its shattered social systems, Ebola struck. For nearly a year, classrooms stayed shuttered. When doors finally reopened, many seats remained empty – particularly those where girls once sat.
Even after a slow and painful recovery, cost remained a brutal gatekeeper. Three out of ten Sierra Leonean children never entered a classroom in 2017, priced out by school fees, mandatory uniforms, and costly books. Those who made it through the gates often found cracked walls, overwhelmed instructors, and benches crammed with twice as many students as they were meant to hold. Bio saw this as a national emergency. His solution was to make education not just free, but unstoppable.
The Free Quality School Education (FQSE) Program: A Policy Leap
Launched months after Bio’s inauguration, FQSE was designed as a universal lifeline. One landmark decision was the elimination of fees for all government primary and secondary schools. The government eliminated WASSCE exam fees, lifting a crushing financial burden for poor families.
Official figures show the impact. The numbers tell a clear story, where 2.1 million students filled classrooms in 2018, by 2023 that figure jumped to 3.6 million, a 71 percent leap in school attendance. Classroom benches filled with more girls than ever before. Pregnant teenagers returned to classrooms after the country lifted its controversial school ban, a policy shift that changed lives.
The education ministry hired 5,000 new teachers during these reforms, training them intensively. Though promised raises were supposed to keep teachers in schools, late paychecks still empty classrooms when protests begin. Each strike erodes the fragile gains made since reforms began.
Infrastructure Overhaul
The government built hundreds of new schools and repaired crumbling ones. Science labs got modern equipment in select locations, letting students experiment rather than just memorise. Truckloads of textbooks reached every region, millions distributed to remove obstacles blocking children from proper schooling.
The reforms have sparked significant progress, particularly in girls’ education. World Bank reports now place Sierra Leone among a small group of African countries where boys and girls attend primary school in nearly equal numbers. Exam results tell a similar story, where only 38% of students passed WASSCE tests in 2020, that figure reached 54% by 2023, according to Education Ministry records. International backers have taken notice. The World Bank, European Union and Global Partnership for Education continue funding the Free Quality School Education program, convinced by its early results.
The sceptics’ corner: is the progress sustainable?
The FQSE program’s successes come with persistent problems. Classrooms bulge with 100 students fighting for one teacher’s attention, making real learning nearly impossible. Even with higher pay, late salaries still push teachers to walk out, cancelling lessons for days. And while education eats up 22% of the national budget, critics warn that hospitals and roads crumble from neglect. For reforms to last, these issues demand solutions without slowing progress.
The government argues, justifiably, that no reform this ambitious comes pain-free. As David Sengeh, Sierra Leone’s education minister, put it: “We are building the plane while flying it. But would you rather have no plane at all?”
The bigger picture: can education redraw Sierra Leone’s future?
Bio’s education push mirrors the journeys of nations like Rwanda and South Korea, which bet on schooling to leapfrog from poverty to progress. But Sierra Leone’s test is steeper. With youth unemployment still high, many wonder if the educated youth will find work. There are also concerns whether teacher training and infrastructure will keep pace with enrollment.
Still, the alternative, a generation locked out of learning, was far worse. As the popular saying goes, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”
The Long Game of Hope
Sierra Leone’s education revolution is unfinished, but it is undeniably altering the nation’s trajectory. Where once children sold goods in Freetown’s streets, today many wear backpacks. Where girls once left school early, many now dream of universities.
Bio’s legacy will hinge on whether these students ascend from classrooms into careers, turning his gamble into generational change. For now, Sierra Leone’s schools are no longer just buildings, they are beacons of a stubborn, hopeful bet on the future.
