Making Progress – Schools and Students in Sierra …wbgfiles.worldbank.org/documents/hdn/ed/saber/supporting_doc/AFR... · Making Progress – Schools and Students in Sierra Leone

Making Progress

Ministry of Education, Science and Technology

Making Progress – Schools and Students in Sierra Leone The 2010/11 School Census Report – Vol.1

ACTD 2/16/2012

Making Progress

Table of Contents Map of Sierra Leone ........................................................................................................................

Foreword ........................................................................................................................................ i

Acknowledgement........................................................................................................................ iii

List of Acronyms and Abbreviations ............................................................................................ v

Report Highlights / Key Points ................................................................................................. 1

Section 1: The Schools .................................................................................................................. 5

1.1: National and Regional ........................................................................................................ 5

1.1.1 Number of Schools ................................................................................................. 5

1.1.2 Schools by Ownership / Proprietorship............................................................... 7

1.1.3 Public and Private Schools .................................................................................. 10

1.1.4 Approval Status.................................................................................................... 10

1.1.5 Classrooms ........................................................................................................... 12

1.1.6 Water and Toilet Facilities .................................................................................. 12

1.2 Local Councils .............................................................................................................. 14

1.2.1 Number of Schools ............................................................................................... 14

1.2.2 Classrooms in Need of Repairs ........................................................................... 17

1.2.3 Unapproved Schools ............................................................................................ 17

1.2.4 School Ownership / Proprietorship ................................................................... 18

1.2.5 Public and Private Schools .................................................................................. 19

1.2.6 Water and Toilet Facilities in Schools ................................................................ 20

1.3 Changes in School Numbers ........................................................................................ 24

Section 2: The Students............................................................................................................... 25

2.1 National and Regional ................................................................................................... 25

Preamble .............................................................................................................................. 25

Details .................................................................................................................................. 25

2.1.1 Enrolment Totals ................................................................................................. 25

2.1.2 Pre-Primary and Primary Grade Enrolments .................................................... 27

2.1.3 Grade Enrolment of Girls at the Pre-Primary and Primary Levels ................... 28

2.1.4 Grade Enrolments at the Junior and Senior Secondary Levels ......................... 29

2.1.5 Grade Enrolment of Girls at the Junior and Senior Secondary Levels .............. 30

2.1.6 Grade Repetition .................................................................................................. 32

Making Progress

2.1.7 Enrolment in Schools belonging to Different Categories / Groups of

Proprietors .......................................................................................................................... 33

2.1.8 Female Enrolment in Schools belonging to Different Proprietors / Owners .. 37

2.2 Local Councils .............................................................................................................. 39

2.2.1 Enrolment Totals ................................................................................................. 39

2.2.2 Grade Enrolments ............................................................................................... 41

2.2.3 Female Enrolment ............................................................................................... 45

2.2.4 Enrolment by Proprietorship / Ownership ....................................................... 46

2.3 Other Enrolment Issues .............................................................................................. 50

2.3.1 Special Needs / Differently Able......................................................................... 50

2.3.2 Average School Size............................................................................................. 51

2.3.3 Age Related Analysis ........................................................................................... 53

2.3.4 Gross Intake, Gross Enrolment Rate, Completion Rate and Gender Parity Index

55

2.3.5 Relationship between Class 6 Enrolment and National Primary School

Examination (NPSE) Performance of School ..................................................................... 60

2.4 Changes in Enrolment and Related Rates .................................................................. 64

2.4.1 Enrolment ............................................................................................................ 64

2.4.2 Enrolment Rates .................................................................................................. 67

2.5 Comparison with JSS Girls’ Education Support Programme Numbers .................... 70

Section 3 ...................................................................................................................................... 72

Final Words on Volume 1 ....................................................................................................... 72

References ....................................................................................................................................... I

Annex 1 .......................................................................................................................................... II

Definitions ..................................................................................................................................... II

Annex 2 ......................................................................................................................................... III

Approval Status of Schools by Local Council and School Level ................................................. III

Annex 3 .......................................................................................................................................... V

Ownership of Schools by Local Council and School Level .......................................................... V

Annex 4 ........................................................................................................................................ VII

Total Enrolment by Level, Proprietor and Region .................................................................... VII

Annex 5 ....................................................................................................................................... VIII

School Level Enrolment by Sex, Proprietor and Region .......................................................... VIII

Annex 6 ......................................................................................................................................... IX

Enrolment by Local Council, Sex and School Level as well as Girls/Boys Ratio ...................... IX

Making Progress

Annex 6 (contd.) ............................................................................................................................ X

Enrolment by Local Council, Sex and School Level as well as Girls/Boys Ratio ........................ X

Annex 7 ......................................................................................................................................... XI

Total School Level Enrolment by Local Council, Sex and Proprietor ........................................ XI

Annex 8 ........................................................................................................................................ XII

Enrolment by School Level, Local Council and Proprietor ....................................................... XII

Annex 9 ....................................................................................................................................... XIV

Enrolment by School Level, Local Council, Sex and Proprietor ............................................... XIV

Annex 10 ..................................................................................................................................... XVI

Enrolment by School Level, Local Council, Grade and Sex ....................................................... XVI

Annex 10 (contd.) ...................................................................................................................... XVII

Enrolment by School Level, Local Council, Grade and Sex ...................................................... XVII

Annex 11 ..................................................................................................................................... XIX

Grade Based Enrolment Pyramid .............................................................................................. XIX

Annex 12 ...................................................................................................................................... XX

Female to Male (G/B) Ratio by Local Council, School Level and Grade ................................... XX

Annex 13 .................................................................................................................................... XXII

Primary Level Special Needs Student Enrolment.................................................................... XXII

Annex 14 ................................................................................................................................... XXIV

Average School Size by Local Council Tables ......................................................................... XXIV

Annex 15 ................................................................................................................................... XXVI

Age Profile of Enrolment at School Level ................................................................................ XXVI

Annex 16 .................................................................................................................................. XXVII

Gross Enrolment Rate Tables by School Level ...................................................................... XXVII

Annex 17 ................................................................................................................................. XXVIII

Proxy Completion Rate Tables by School Level.................................................................... XXVIII

Annex 18 ................................................................................................................................... XXIX

Level Gross Intake and Gross Completion Rate Based Student Flow Pyramid .................... XXIX

Annex 19 .................................................................................................................................... XXX

Enrolment Trends by School Level .......................................................................................... XXX

Making Progress

List of Tables

Table 1.1.1: Formal School Level Institutions by Region and Nationally – November 2010 5

Table 1.1.2: Ratio of School Types by Region and National 6

Table 1.1.3: Distribution of Categories of Schools by Region and National 6

Table1.1.4: Number of Schools by Proprietors/Owners 7

Table 1.1.5: Number of Pre-Primary Schools by Region and Proprietor / Owner 8

Table1.1.6: Number of Primary Schools by Region and Proprietor / Owner 8

Table1.1.7: Number of Junior Secondary Schools by Region and Proprietor / Owner 9

Table1.1.8: Number of Senior Secondary Schools by Region and Proprietor / Owner 9

Table 1.1.9: Numbers of Public and Private Schools by School Level 10

Table 1.1.10: Approval Status of Schools by Region and Nationally 10

Table 1.1.11: % of Unapproved Schools by School Level and Region – November 2010 11

Table 1.1.12: % of Classrooms in need of Repairs by Region and School Level 12

Table 1.1.13: Sources of Water in Schools by Region 12

Table 1.1.14: Functioning Toilets in Schools by Region 13

Table 1.1.15: Percentage of Schools with Non-Functioning Toilets and Unsafe Water by Region 13

Table 1.2.1: Distribution of Schools by Local Councils, Type and Totals 14

Table 1.2.2: Numbers of Schools by Local Council and School Level 15

Table 1.2.3: Number of Pre-Primary, JS and SS Schools for every 100 Primary by Local Council 15

Table 1.2.4: No. of Chiefdoms without Specified Level of Schooling by Local Council 16

Table 1.2.5: % of Classrooms in need of Repairs by Local Council and School Level 17

Table 1.2.6: Number of Schools by School Proprietor / Owner and Local Council 18

Table 1.2.7: Distribution of Public and Private Schools by Local Council 19

Table 1.2.8: Main Sources of Water of Schools by Local Council 20

Table 1.2.9: Numbers of Schools with Functioning Toilets or Otherwise by Local Council 21

Table 1.3.1: Number of Primary and Secondary Schools 2004/05 and 2010/11 24

Table 2.1.1: Student Enrolment by Region and Sex 25

Table 2.1.2: Student Enrolment by Region, Level and Sex 26

Table 2.1.3: National Pre-Primary and Primary Aggregate Grade Enrolment Totals 27

Table 2.1.4: Regional Pre-Primary and Primary Aggregate Grade Enrolment Totals 27

Table 2.1.5: Enrolment in Final Grade as a Percentage of Enrolment in First Grade 28

Table 2.1.6: Pre-Primary Enrolment by Region, Grade and Sex 28

Table 2.1.7: Primary Enrolment by Region, Grade and Sex 28

Table 2.1.8: National Junior Secondary and Senior Secondary Aggregate Grade Enrolment

Totals 29

Table 2.1.9: Regional Junior and Senior Secondary Aggregate Grade Enrolment Totals 30

Table 2.1.10: Junior and Senior Secondary Enrolment by Region, Grade and Sex 30

Table 2.1.11: Percentage of Girls Enrolled in Each Junior and Senior Secondary Grade by

Region 31

Table 2.1.12: National % of Girls Enrolled by Grade 32

Table 2.1.13: % of Repeaters per Grade at the Primary and Secondary Levels 32

Table 2.1.14: % of Repeaters by Education Level and Sex 33

Table 2.1.15: Enrolment by Sex and Proprietor 34

Table 2.1.16: Total Enrolment by Region and Proprietor 34

Making Progress

Table 2.1.17: Enrolment by School Level and Proprietor 35

Table 2.1.18: % Female Enrolment by School Level and Proprietor 37

Table 2.2.1: Enrolment by Local Council and School Level 39

Table 2.2.2: Enrolment by Local Council, Level and Sex 40

Table 2.2.3: Local Council Pre-Primary and Primary Enrolment by Grade 41

Table 2.2.4: Local Council Junior and Senior Secondary Enrolment by Grade 42

Table 2.2.5: Enrolment in SSS3 as a Percentage of Enrolment in P1 43

Table 2.2.6: Female to Male (G/B) Ratios by Local Council and Level 45

Table 2.2.7: Total School Level Enrolment by Proprietor and Local Council 46

Table 2.2.8: % of Total Enrolled Students for Each Local Council Area by Proprietor 46

Table 2.3.1: % of Enrolled Primary School Students with Special Needs by Sex 50

Table 2.3.2: Average School Sizes by School Level 51

Table 2.3.3: Gross Intake Rate for Class 1 Primary 55

Table 2.3.4: Gross Intake Rate for JSS 1 56

Table 2.3.5: Gross Intake Rate for SSS 1 56

Table 2.3.6: Gross Enrolment Rates for the Pre-Primary and Primary Levels 57

Table 2.3.7: Gross Enrolment Rates for the Junior and Senior Secondary Levels 57

Table 2.3.8: Gender Parity Indices (GPIs) based on the Primary Level GER and G/B Ratios by

School Level 58

Table 2.3.9: Gender Parity Indices (GPIs) for Entry to the Primary, Junior and Senior Secondary

Levels 58

Table 2.3.10: Proxy Completion Rate Values for the Primary, Junior and Senior Secondary

Levels 59

Table 2.3.11: Gender Parity Indices (GPIs) based on Level Completion 60

Table 2.3.12: Comparison of Class 6 Enrolment and Number Sitting 2011 NPSE 61

Table 2.3.13: Pearson Product Moment Correlation (r) Values 62

Table 2.3.14: Pearson r Values and Strength of Relationship/Correlation 62

Table 2.4.1: Gross Enrolment Rate Values 2001/02 – 2004/05, 2010/11 67

Table 2.4.2: Primary Level Gross Intake Rate Values 2001/02 – 2004/05, 2010/11 68

Table 2.4.3: Gross Completion Rate Values - 2001/02, 2004/05, 2010/11 69

Table 2.5.1: Kailahun Local Council Total JSS1 Girls’ Enrolment of Schools Receiving JSS Girls

Support Programme Funds 71

Making Progress

List of Charts Chart 1.1.1: Number of Schools by Level and Region 6

Chart 1.1.2: Distribution of Schools between Proprietors by School Level 7

Chart 1.1.3: Percentage of Private Schools by School Level 10

Chart 1.1.4: Regional Distribution of Unapproved Schools by School Level – November 2010 11

Chart 1.2.1: % of All Schools to be found in Local Council Area 14

Chart 1.2.2: % of Unapproved Schools by Local Council 18

Chart 1.2.3: % of Primary Schools in each Local Council Owned by the GOSL 19

Chart 1.2.4: % of Schools with Potentially Unsafe Water by Local Council 21

Chart 1.2.5: Percentage of Schools with Functioning/No Functioning Toilets by Local Council 22

Chart 1.2.6: % of Schools with Unsafe Drinking Water and % with No Functioning Toilets by

Local Council 23

Chart 1.3.1: % of Primary and Secondary Schools that are GOSL, Private, Government-Assisted 24

Chart 2.1.1: Percentage Distribution of School Level Student Enrolment by Region 26

Chart 2.1.2: Enrolment at the Junior and Senior Secondary Levels by Region, Grade and Sex 31

Chart 2.1.3: Total Number of Students Enrolled in Schools Belonging to Different Groups of

Proprietors 33

Chart 2.1.4: % of Total Students Enrolled by Proprietor 34

Chart 2.1.5: Distribution of Total Student Enrolment by Region and category of Proprietor 35

Chart 2.1.6: Pre-Primary Enrolment by Region and Proprietor 36

Chart 2.1.7: Primary Enrolment by Region and Proprietor 36

Chart 2.1.8: Junior Secondary Enrolment by Region and Proprietor 36

Chart 2.1.9: Senior Secondary Enrolment by Region and Proprietor 37

Chart 2.2.1: Total School Level Enrolment by Local Council 39

Chart 2.2.2: % Difference between Enrolment at the Junior Secondary and Primary Levels by

Local Council 40

Chart 2.2.3: Enrolment in SSS3 as a Percentage of Enrolment in SSS1 44

Chart 2.2.4: Pre-Primary Enrolment by Local Council and Proprietor 48

Chart 2.2.5: Primary Enrolment by Local Council and Proprietor 48

Chart 2.2.6: Junior Secondary Enrolment by Local Council and Proprietor 49

Chart 2.2.7: Senior Secondary Enrolment by Local Council and Proprietor 49

Chart 2.3.1: % of Enrolled Primary School Students with Special Needs by Local Council 51

Chart 2.3.2: Average Class Size by Local Council and School Level 52

Chart 2.3.3: Age profile of Primary School Students 53

Chart 2.3.4: Age profile of Junior Secondary School Students 54

Chart 2.3.5: Age Profile of Senior Secondary School Students 54

Chart 2.3.6: GIRs for Class 1, JSS 1 and SSS 1 by Sex 56

Chart 2.3.7: GERs for the Primary, Junior and Senior Secondary Levels by Sex 57

Chart 2.3.8: Proxy Completion Rates for the Primary, Junior and Senior Secondary Levels 59

Chart 2.4.1: Pre-Primary School Enrolment in 2003/04 – 2005/06 and 2010/11 64

Chart 2.4.2: Primary School Enrolment in 2000/01 – 2004/05 and 2010/11 65

Chart 2.4.3: Junior Secondary School Enrolment in 2000/01 – 2004/05 and 2010/11 66

Chart 2.4.4: Senior Secondary School Enrolment in 2000/01 – 2004/05 and 2010/11 66

Making Progress

Map of Sierra Leone

i Making Progress

Foreword

It is with pleasure that I write the forward to the first annual school census

report of Sierra Leone. My government places very high premium on education.

This is not simply because of our past glories in providing education for

Anglophone West Africa but because the realities of today demand that we

prioritize and place great importance on the education of our people. The success

of our efforts to reverse the downward trend in the affairs of the nation resulting

from past mistakes and the global recession is largely dependent on our success

in addressing large disparities, improving relevance and lifting the standard of

the education we presently provide. Notwithstanding our efforts, our endeavours

will only bear worthwhile fruits if they are based on up-to-date and reliable

information and data.

One source of the needed information and data is the annually conducted

national school census. The census provides information that is useful not only to

central but also to local government. My government has looked through the

enrolment data and, being satisfied with it, have, even before its utilisation in this

report, released it to the UNESCO Institute of Statistics as the official school

enrolment data for the 2010/11 academic year.

I have read the findings detailed in the report and note with pleasure the

continued large numbers of children enrolled at the primary level but observe

with concern the relatively small numbers enrolled at the pre and post-primary

levels. In particular I see that there are chiefdoms with no post-primary

institutions, increasing gender disparities in enrolment as the schooling ladder is

ascended, marked urban : rural disparities in provisions and access, a high

percentage of schools without functioning toilets and/or ‘safe’ water and a high

percentage of classrooms in need of repairs. I realize that teaching/learning

environment must be conducive for real learning to take place and in this regard

my government will take all actions necessary to address the gaps revealed by

this census report. I am happy to note that our partners are ready to help us with

this task and that key findings from this report and information from other

government documents such as the 2010 White Paper on Education and the

2011 Capacity Development Strategy together with findings from commissioned

studies as well as details in survey reports such as the 2011 Multi-Indicator

Cluster Survey (MICS) and the 2008 Demographic Health Survey (DHS),

published in 2009, will be analyzed, aligned and fed into a single Education

Sector Plan of Sierra Leone.

I eagerly await Volume II of this report which I am informed will be wholly

concerned with teacher issues. My government views teachers as key to the

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

ii Making Progress

achievement of our educational goals and our societal aspirations. This is why we

have raised the salaries of teachers, commenced on compiling records of all

teachers in public schools as a first part of establishing a comprehensive and

reliable teachers' database and gone through all the processes necessary to

establish a teaching service commission.

I am conscious of the fact that, although this report is on what happens at school

level, education is a continuum and that what takes place at school level impacts

on what takes place at the post-school level and vice-versa.

A challenge that confronts us presently is that of modernising the education we

provide and making it more relevant and useful. In this regard, I am informed

that the development of a national curriculum framework is soon to start with

the conduct of a learning assessment exercise and the linked revision of

syllabuses following closely behind. I applaud these initiatives and look forward

to them contributing to the development of our nation.

As a final word, I applaud those in the Ministry of Education, Science and

Technology who have taken on this onerous task of producing a school census

report that is more than just a series of tables and chart. My government has

every confidence in the data it contains and as it emanates from one of my key

line ministries working in collaboration with Statistics Sierra Leone, I direct that

the data be taken as the official data on schooling in Sierra Leone. Additionally,

given the importance of the information contained in the report, I direct that a

similar document be produced annually and in a timely manner by the Ministry

of Education, Science and Technology.

May God bless us all.

iii Making Progress

Acknowledgement

Since my assignment to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology

(MEST) I have yearned for the day that I would be able to make reliable data on

enrolment in our schools, and an explanation of the story told by the numbers,

available to the public and our partners. I am pleased that finally that day has

arrived. My yearning for more reliable data goes beyond being able to announce

its availability. I view reliable data as essential for proper planning, policy

formulation aiding policy decisions, evaluating the impact of interventions and

keeping track of the state of the education system.

A report of this nature is not possible without the involvement and support of

many individuals, teams and agencies. Overseeing the whole process has been

the Executive Management Team (EMT) of the Ministry of Education, Science and

Technology consisting of myself as Chairman, Deputy Minister I - Dr. Algassimu

Jah and Deputy Minister II – Dr. L. Nyalley supported by the Permanent Secretary

– Abdul R. Bayoh and the Chief Education Officer - Mr. M. S. Kamara. Responsible

for the conduct of the census has been Mrs. A. Momoh – Acting Director –

Planning and Policy Development Directorate, ably assisted by her handful of

support staff. At the district level, the Deputy Directors of the Inspectorate

together with representatives of the local councils and staff of Statistics Sierra

Leone led the process. Contributing to the personnel supervising the data

collection part of the exercise where senior staff from MEST, the Sierra Leone

Teachers’ Union (SLTU), Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools (CPSS),

Head Teachers Council (HTC) and Statistics Sierra Leone. Enumerators included

students, unemployed graduates and junior staff attached to the Planning

Directorate. Data entry clerks were all recruited via advertisements in

newspapers and announcements on the radio and most performed their job well.

Data checking and cleaning were started by the Acting Director of the Planning

and Policy Development Directorate and staff. They were later assisted by the

international support team for the updating of the Country Status Report and the

then consultant for the Education Sector Review. The large scale validation of the

enrolment data was led by the Acting Director of the Planning and Policy

Directorate with support from the Statistics Sierra Leone staff member attached

to MEST – Mr. A. Yalancy and the World Bank Education Sector Plan development

consultant A. C. T. Dupigny. The latter also led the census data analysis and the

drafting of this report. All of the aforementioned deserve our thanks and

gratitude for their hard work and the ability displayed in successfully completing

their tasks.

The above would not have been possible without the financial and logistical

inputs made by the Government of Sierra Leone and its development partners

iv Making Progress

led by UNICEF and the World Bank, with significant support from United

Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), Swedish

International Development Aid Agency (SIDA), Japanese International

Cooperation Agency (JICA), Deustch Gesellschaft fur Internationale

Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and others. The President has directed that an annual

census report on education be produced, it is my hope and that of the

Government and people of Sierra Leone that the support provided by the

partners will continue for a long time to come.

To all those who contributed to the production of this report I extend my

warmest thanks.

v Making Progress

List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

AIR Apparent Intake Rate

BECE Basic Education Certificate Examination

SSL Statistics Sierra Leone

CSR Country Status Report

EMIS Education Management Information System

ESP Education Sector Plan

G/B Girls to Boys Ratio

GCR Gross Completion Rate

GER Gross Enrolment Rate

GIR Gross Intake Rate

GPI Gender Parity Index

GOSL Government of Sierra Leone

JSS Junior Secondary School

LC Local Council

MEST Ministry of Education, Science and Technology

NGO Non-Governmental Organization

NPSE National Primary School Examination

PCR Proxy Completion Rate

SSS Senior Secondary School

UBE Universal Basic Education

UNICEF United Nations International Children’s Fund

UPE Universal Primary Education

WAEC West African Examinations Council

WASSCE West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination

WB World Bank

1 Making Progress

Report Highlights / Key Points

Introductory Remarks

This report is divided into two main parts/sections – (i) the schools and (ii) the

students. Each section is further subdivided into three main sub-sections – (i)

national and regional (ii) local councils and (iii) changes. There are two

additional sub-sections under ‘the students’ section – (i) other enrolment issues

and (ii) comparison with JSS girls’ education support programme numbers

The original enrolment data for 2010/11 submitted by many heads of schools

was found to be inflated

A large scale validation exercise was carried out in order to arrive at new and

better (‘inflation free’) enrolment data

The validation exercise could not correct errors on reported ages of students so

age data should be used/interpreted with caution

Only a low level validation was carried out on the number of schools and teacher

numbers

Number, Approval Status and Distribution of Schools

Sierra Leone had 644 pre-primary, 5,931 primary, 888 junior secondary and 208

senior secondary schools i.e. 7,671 schools in November 2010. This means that

approximately 77% of all schools were primary schools

Approximately 34% of functioning schools have not been approved by the

Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to operate. Half of all pre-primary

and almost half of all junior secondary schools are ‘unapproved’ (Unapproved

means that permission was not received from the Ministry of Education, Science

and Technology to commence operation/open)

The Northern Region had far more primary schools than the other regions but

the Western Area had the most pre-primary, junior secondary and senior

secondary schools in November 2010

Freetown City Council has more schools (1,076) than all other local council

authority

There are 85 chiefdoms out of 166 (inclusive of 12 Western Area zones) without

any pre-primary school, 15 without any junior secondary and 100 without any

senior secondary school. All chiefdoms have primary schools

There is approximately 38 co-educational / mixed school for every single-sex

school

‘Missions’ are the biggest providers of primary, junior secondary and senior

secondary schools. They are also the biggest overall providers of schools – 4,790

‘Private’ providers account for the largest number (257) of pre-primary schools

Almost all ‘mission’ schools are government-assisted i.e. receive support from

the Government of Sierra Leone (GOSL)

Public i.e. Government of Sierra Leone (GOSL) and government-assisted

(‘mission’ and ‘community’) schools outnumber private schools at all levels of

schooling and overall by approximately 9 to 1.

2 Making Progress

Approximately 40% of the schools in the Freetown City Council area are private

State of Repair of Classrooms, Water and Sanitation

Based on responses received, approximately 55% of all classrooms are in need of

repairs

25% of schools captured by the November 2010 census claim to have a ‘stream’

as their only source of water

Over 40% of schools in Tonkolili and Moyamba districts only have access to

‘streams’ as their source of water

38% of schools have no functioning toilets

6 Local Councils have more than 50% of their schools with no functioning toilets

Since the 2004/05 school year, there has been a 38% increase in the number of

primary schools and a 291% increase in the number of secondary schools

Since 2004/05, the growth in number of schools has been greatest for

‘government-assisted’ schools

National and Regional Enrolments

The 2010/11 school census post-validation enrolment total for all levels of

schooling is 1,584,586 with pre-primary schooling accounting for 37,351,

primary – 1,194,503, junior secondary – 244,489 and senior secondary –

108,243

48% of all school going students are female

33% of all school going students are to be found in the Northern Region with the

other 3 regions sharing approximately the same percentages of students i.e. 22%

- 23%

Whilst the Northern Region has the greatest number of primary school students,

the Western Area has the greatest number of pre-primary, junior and senior

secondary school students

48% (753,356) of all school going students are female

The number and percentage of girls enrolled in school decreases as education

level increases (51% - pre-primary; 49% - primary; 45% - junior secondary;

38% - senior secondary)

Overall, more girls than boys are enrolled at the pre-primary level

More girls than boys are enrolled at the primary level in the Western Area

Gender parity achieved at pre-primary level and possible at primary level by

2015 if a last ‘push’ made by GOSL and its partners

At the junior and senior secondary levels, the percentage of girls enrolled is least

in the final grade

The difference between enrolment at the primary and junior secondary level is

very large and greatest in the Northern Region

Large difference between enrolment in final grade of primary and first grade of

junior secondary school

Enrolment in the first grade of each level is much larger than enrolment in the

final grade and enrolment is least in the final grade of each school level.

3 Making Progress

‘Mission’ schools account for 62% of all students attending school in Sierra

Leone. GOSL accounts for 20% and private for just 6%

At the pre-primary level, ‘private’ providers account for the greatest number of

students

Grade Repetition

The percentage of students repeating a grade is high at every level of schooling

There is a slightly higher percentage of girls than boys repeating at every level of

schooling

Local Council Enrolment

Freetown City Council has more school students (266,373) than each of the other

local councils

There are large differences between enrolment at the primary and junior

secondary level in each local council area

The difference between attendance at the primary and junior secondary levels is

greater in the more rural local council areas than in the more urban

Enrolment in the final school level grade (SS3) as a percentage of enrolment in

the first mandatory school level grade (Primary/Class 1) is lower in the more

rural local councils than the more urban

‘Missions’ account for more school students than other categories of proprietors

in all local council areas

Students with Special Needs

Students with special needs are under-reported

Reported students with special needs account for less than 1% of total national

enrolment at the primary level

Girls to Boys (G/B) Ratio and Gender Parity Index (GPI)

Fewer local councils have more girls than boys enrolled as the schooling ladder

is ascended

Few local councils have G/B ratios above 0.85 at the junior secondary level and

0.60 at the senior secondary

The GER based Gender Parity Indices (GPIs) for the pre-primary, primary, junior

secondary and senior secondary levels are 104%, 94%, 80% and 59%,

respectively

Enrolment Rates

The age data supplied by heads of schools has reliability problems but even so

the students above the official age are present in large number at each level.

The Gross Intake Rates (GIRs) for the primary, junior secondary and senior

secondary levels are 121% (Girls – 115%), 59% (Girls – 53%) and 26% (Girls –

21%), respectively

The Gross Enrolment Rates (GERs) for the pre-primary, primary, junior

secondary and senior secondary levels are 6% (Girls – 7%), 122% (Girls –

118%), 62% (Girls – 55%) and 32% (Girls – 24%), respectively

4 Making Progress

The Gross Completion Rates (GCRs) / Proxy Completion Rates (PCRs) for the

primary, junior secondary and senior secondary levels are 76% (Girls – 73%),

49% (Girls – 41%) and 26% (Girls – 17%), respectively

Average School Size

Average school sizes increase with increasing level of schooling with the average

size of senior secondary schools being almost twice that of junior secondary

schools

Class 6 Enrolment and National Primary School Examination Performance

Nationally, candidates from small classes do not perform any better in the

National Primary School Examination (NPSE) than those in large classes but in

Freetown there is a small to medium negative correlation between class size and

pass rate of the school.

Enrolment Trends

Between the 2005/06 and 2010/11 school years enrolment at the pre-primary

level increased by 106%

Between the 2004/05 and 2010/11 school years there is a seeming small

decrease in enrolment at the primary level because of probable inflation of

2004/05 enrolment totals.

Between the 2004/05 and 2010/11 school years, female and male enrolment at

the junior secondary level increased by 80% and 43% respectively i.e. 58%

overall

Between the 2004/05 and 2010/11 school years, female and male enrolment at

the senior secondary level increased by 150% and 136% respectively i.e. 141%

overall

The 2010/11 GER for the primary level is 40% less than that for 2004/05, whilst

that for the junior secondary level is 18% more and that for the senior secondary

level also 18% more

The primary level GIR for 2010/11 is 95% less than that for 2004/05

Between 2004/05 and 2010/11, the GCR/PCR at the primary, junior secondary

and senior secondary levels increased by 11%, 18% and 16%, respectively. At

the senior secondary level between 2004/05 and 2010/11, the GCR/PCR more

than doubled from 10% to 26%

Census Numbers and JSS Girls’ Support Programme Numbers Comparison

The post-validation enrolment numbers for girls and the district enrolment

numbers used by the Accounts Division of MEST for the JSS Girls’ support

programme do not differ greatly if the findings for Kailahun holds true for all

districts / local council areas

School Census Report and Country Status Report Overlaps

There overlaps in the contents of this report and the ongoing Country Status

Report (CSR) on Education but this has been kept to the minimum

5 Making Progress

Section 1: The Schools

1.1: National and Regional

1.1.1 Number of Schools

The 2010 School Census data indicates that in November 2010 there were 644 pre-

primary, 5,931 primary, 888 junior secondary and 208 senior secondary schools in

Sierra Leone. 77% of all schools were primary institutions. Junior Secondary Schools

are much fewer than expected given the fact that, prior to the recent inclusion of

pre-primary schooling, primary and junior secondary schooling constituted

‘compulsory’ formal basic education.

It is important to note that an alarming practice has been found in the data collected.

A few schools have gone beyond the level for which they were approved to take

students. For example a few schools designated as primary by the Ministry of

Education, Science and Technology were found to have junior secondary classes in

operation. Occurrences of self-upgrading were found to be more at the junior

secondary level i.e. schools approved as junior secondary were found to have senior

secondary classes in operation. For the purpose of this section, schools have been

counted based on the levels for which they have been approved. In the case of the

many unapproved schools, counting has been based on the designation used by the

school. For the purpose of the next section, enrolments by levels are based on the

grades in which students are found irrespective of the level for which the school has

been approved or the designation it is carrying. This means that if for example a

school calls itself X Kindergarten School it is counted as a pre-primary but if it

operates primary school classes in addition to its pre-primary classes, the students

in the primary classes will be recorded as primary level enrolment. This can result in

a situation in which a particular area has seemingly no senior secondary school (as

per approval records at MEST) but has numbers for enrolled students at the senior

secondary level (as per grades found in operation in the school).

The distribution of the schools from the census is as shown in the table below:

Table 1.1.1: Formal School Level Institutions by Region and Nationally – November 2010 Region Pre-Primary Primary JSS SSS All All

East 110 1,353 153 36 1,652 22%

North 90 2,233 313 46 2,682 35%

South 100 1,513 175 40 1,828 24%

West 344 832 247 86 1,509 20%

National 644 5,931 888 208 7,671 National 8% 77% 12% 3%

Table 1.1.1 shows that in November 2010, 35% of all formal school level institutions

were to be found in the Northern Region with just 20% to be found in the Western

Area. The foregoing is due to the large number of primary schools in the Northern

Region. It should be noted that the Northern Region has the fewest number of pre-

6 Making Progress

primary schools as well as much fewer senior secondary schools than the Western

Area. Additionally, readers should note that schools differ greatly in size as

measured by roll and number of classrooms as will be seen later.

The relative number of institutions by region is shown in the chart below.

Chart 1.1.1: Number of Schools by Level and Region

Nationally, for every 100 primary schools there are approximately 11 pre-primary,

15 junior secondary and 4 senior secondary as the table shows.

Table 1.1.2: Ratio of School Types by Region and National

Region Pre-Primary Primary JSS SSS

East 8 100 11 3

North 4 100 14 2

South 7 100 12 3

West 41 100 30 10

National 11 100 15 4

Table 1.1.2 indicates that the ratio of schools at other levels to those at the primary

level is low but greatest in the Western Area. At the same time the table suggests

that there is an expectation that not all who enter the primary level will proceed to

subsequent levels. The latter has serious implications given that formal basic

education covers primary, junior secondary and, lately, pre-primary schooling.

There are 3 main categories of schools at each school level: single sex - boys, single

sex – girls and co-educational i.e. mixed. The regional and national distribution of

schools of the different types is shown in the table below.

Table 1.1.3: Distribution of Categories of Schools by Region and National Region Boys Girls Co-educational / Mixed All

East 20 23 1,609 1,652

North 11 25 2,646 2,682

South 26 28 1,774 1,828

West 29 34 1,446 1,509

National 86 110 7,475 7,671

1% 1% 97%

110 90 100 344

1,353

2,233

1,513

832

153 313

175 247 36 46 40 86

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

East North South West

Pre-Primary Primary JSS SSS

7 Making Progress

The above table indicates that the great majority of schools in Sierra Leone are co-

educational. It also indicates that single-sex-girls schools are slightly more

numerous than their male counterparts. Single-sex schools are more numerous in

the Western Area than in other regions of the country.

1.1.2 Schools by Ownership / Proprietorship

Proprietors have become more assertive and some have indicated to MEST their

intention to make some of their institutions private. At the same time, such has been

the rate of growth in the number of schools started by communities that the GOSL is

finding the absorption of all of them challenging. The foregoing being the case, it is

necessary to present a more complete school ownership picture than would be

possible with just categorizing schools as GOSL, Government-Assisted and Private.

There are four main categories of proprietors / owners of schools in Sierra Leone.

They own very different numbers of schools nationally as the table below shows.

Table1.1.4: Number of Schools by Proprietors/Owners

Level GOSL Private Community Missions Other Agencies All

Pre- Primary 43 257 81 254 9 644

Primary 1,023 306 660 3,908 34 5,931

JSS 67 136 168 505 12 888

SSS 19 46 17 123 3 208

All 1,152 745 926 4,790 58 7,671

15% 10% 12% 62% 1%

Chart 1.1.2 below shows more clearly the difference in numbers of schools owned by

proprietors.

Chart 1.1.2: Distribution of Schools between Proprietors by School Level

The chart and table above show religious missions to be the largest providers of

schools – 62%. The Government of Sierra Leone provides just 15% of all schools and

private providers – 10%.

43 257

81 254

9

1,023

306 660

3,908

34 67 136 168 505

12 19 46 17 123 3 0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

GOSL Private Community Missions Other Agencies

Pre- Primary Primary

JSS SSS

8 Making Progress

The regional distribution of pre-primary schools by proprietor is shown in the table

below. It is worth noting from the table, that over 50% of all pre-primary schools are

to be found in the Western Area.

Table 1.1.5: Number of Pre-Primary Schools by Region and Proprietor / Owner Region GOSL Private Community Missions Other Agencies All

East 11 26 20 51 2 110

North 17 16 11 44 2 90

South 6 30 7 54 3 100

West 9 185 43 105 2 344

National 43 257 81 254 9 644

7% 40% 13% 39% 1%

The table above shows religious missions to be the largest providers of pre-primary

schools in every region except the Western Area. However, nationally, private

proprietors provide a few more pre-primary schools than religious missions, largely

because of the large number of private pre-primaries in the Western Area. Leaving

aside ‘other agencies’, the Government of Sierra Leone is, surprisingly, the smallest

provider of pre-primary schools nationally and in every region except the North.

At the primary level, religious mission schools outnumber those by other

proprietors nationally and regionally as the table below shows. Mission primary

schools are almost 4 times as many as Government of Sierra Leone primary schools.

Table1.1.6: Number of Primary Schools by Region and Proprietor / Owner Region GOSL Private Community Missions Other Agencies All

East 200 28 134 988 3 1,353

North 419 18 334 1,452 10 2,233

South 278 27 95 1,100 13 1,513

West 126 233 97 368 8 832

National 1,023 306 660 3,908 34 5,931

17% 5% 11% 66% 1%

It is worth noting from the table above that, as in the case of pre-primary schools,

private schools are found in greatest numbers in the Western Area and least in the

Northern Region. It is probable that demand and the related ability to pay for

primary education, is greatest in the Western Area, hence the significantly larger

number of private schools.

Primary schools are greatest in number in the Northern Region and least in the

Western Area. This is a reverse of the situation for pre-primary schools.

High public demand for primary education is suggested by the fact that community

established primary schools number more than 50% of those provided by the

Government of Sierra Leone.

Junior secondary schools (JSSs) are far fewer in number than primary schools

suggesting that student numbers are also fewer at the level. Data analysis shows

9 Making Progress

primary schools to out-number junior secondary schools by almost 7:1. The

complete regional distribution of JSSs is shown in the table below.

Table1.1.7: Number of Junior Secondary Schools by Region and Proprietor / Owner Region GOSL Private Community Missions Other Agencies All

East 11 19 28 94 1 153

North 19 11 86 192 5 313

South 12 14 29 118 2 175

West 25 92 25 101 4 247

National 67 136 168 505 12 888

8% 15% 19% 57% 1%

Junior secondary schools are greatest in number in the Northern and least in the

Eastern Region. Religious mission junior secondary schools out-number those by

other proprietors regionally and nationally. In November 2010, there were more

than 7 times as many ‘mission’ JSSs as GOSL JSSs and almost 4 times as many

‘mission’ JSSs as ‘private’ JSSs.

Schools at the senior secondary level are much fewer than those at the preceding

levels. They are more than 4 times fewer in number than schools at the preceding

JSS level. The regional distribution of the schools by region and proprietor is shown

in the table below.

Table1.1.8: Number of Senior Secondary Schools by Region and Proprietor / Owner Region GOSL Private Community Missions Other Agencies All

East 1 4 2 28 1 36

North 4 1 5 35 1 46

South 4 4 3 29 0 40

West 10 37 7 31 1 86

National 19 46 17 123 3 208

9% 22% 8% 59% 1%

In November 2010, senior secondary schools (SSSs) were greatest in number in the

Western Area and fewest in the Eastern Region. SSSs were twice as numerous in the

Western Area as they were in the Eastern and Southern Regions individually.

As was noted for the primary and junior secondary levels, ‘mission’ schools greatly

outnumbered those by other proprietors regionally and nationally. In terms of total

schools, there were more than 6 times as many ‘mission’ as GOSL senior secondary

schools and almost 3 times as many ‘mission’ as ‘private’ SSSs.

10 Making Progress

1.1.3 Public and Private Schools

Instead of the word ‘provider’, it can be argued that religious missions, communities

and other agencies should be referred to as ‘establishers’ of schools as almost all

schools belonging to those categories of proprietors end up as ‘government-assisted’

and hence ‘public’ schools as the table and chart below show.

Table 1.1.9: Numbers of Public and Private Schools by School Level Level Public Private

Pre- Primary 387 257

Primary 5,625 306

JSS 752 136

SSS 162 46

All 6,926 745

With regard to the above table, it is worth noting that even though private primary

schools have been mushrooming in the last few years, they were still quite small in

number in November 2010 relative to public primary schools. Additionally, even

though private schools constituted approximately 10% of all schools at the time of

the census, they still constituted large percentages of pre-primary, junior and senior

secondary schools, as the chart below shows.

Chart 1.1.3: Percentage of Private Schools by School Level

1.1.4 Approval Status

The November 2010 data indicates that a great many schools are operating illegally.

This raises questions about the work of the District Education Offices and staff. It

appears that MEST is unable to control the establishment and operation of schools.

There is a school of thought that part of the problem is that MEST is slow in taking

action and informing all parties of its decision. Whatever the reason, the operating of

so many unapproved schools is a troubling and dangerous development.

Table 1.1.10: Approval Status of Schools by Region and Nationally Region No Response Not Approved Approved All

East 39 542 1,071 1,652

North 39 1,199 1,444 2,682

South 20 371 1,437 1,828

West 20 487 1,002 1,509

National 118 2,599 4,954 7,671

40%

5%

15% 22%

10%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Pre- Primary Primary JSS SSS All

11 Making Progress

Overall, approximately 34% of all schools have not been approved to operate by

MEST but yet these schools are functioning fully. A number of the non-approved

schools came into existence as off-shoots of approved schools. For example, a school

is approved as a primary school, but its proprietor and head are ambitious and soon

start a JSS without going through the necessary approval process.

At 45%, the Northern Region has a very high percentage of unapproved schools. The

situation is almost as troubling in the Eastern Region and Western Area with

approximately a third of their schools being unapproved.

The table below indicates the ‘unapproved’ situation at the various levels of

schooling. The very high percentage of unapproved schools at the pre-primary and

JSS levels are worth noting.

Table 1.1.11: % of Unapproved Schools by School Level and Region – November 2010 Region Pre-Primary Primary JSS SSS

East 75% 29% 42% 19%

North 62% 42% 62% 33%

South 47% 17% 41% 8%

West 40% 27% 40% 27%

National 50% 30% 48% 23%

The chart below shows more clearly the situation indicated in the above table.

Chart 1.1.4: Regional Distribution of Unapproved Schools by School Level – November 2010

The number and percentage of unapproved schools suggest more than the fact that

the District Education Offices are ineffective and/or inefficient in their school

inspection work. It also suggests that the demand / pressure for education is such

that proprietors are willing to risk the ire of the GOSL and start schools without

waiting for approval.

75%

29%

42%

19%

62%

42%

62%

33%

47%

17%

41%

8%

40%

27%

40%

27%

50%

30%

48%

23%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Pre-Primary Primary JSS SSS

East North South West National

12 Making Progress

1.1.5 Classrooms

The census data reveals that heads of a large number of schools (over 900 out of

7,671) from all levels and local authorities failed to provide information on the

number of classrooms their schools possess. The latter makes the 2010 census data

on number of classrooms limited in usefulness. Even so, the available data does

provide useful information on the state of the classrooms in those schools for which

responses were received. The table below provides information on the percentage of

classrooms in those schools responding that need repair.

Table 1.1.12: % of Classrooms in need of Repairs by Region and School Level

Region Pre-Primary Primary JSS SSS ALL

East 61% 60% 45% 42% 56%

North 52% 62% 46% 36% 59%

South 68% 64% 52% 41% 61%

West 42% 51% 42% 41% 47%

National 48% 60% 46% 40% 55%

The table above suggests that most classrooms in Sierra Leone are in need of

repairs. The Eastern and Southern Regions have major classroom repair problems

particularly at the pre-primary and primary levels. No region has less than 50% of

its primary classrooms in need of repairs. Only responding schools in the Northern

Region have less than 40% of SSS classrooms in need of repairs. The suggestion from

the data is that the majority of school students make do with classroom conditions

that are unsatisfactory. The situation at the local council level is detailed later.

1.1.6 Water and Toilet Facilities

All schools have access to some source of water. For 25% however, the source is a

stream. No information was collected on whether the water from the stream was

treated after collection. 31% of the schools surveyed reported that their source of

water was a well(s). No indication was provided on whether the well was ‘treated’.

The overall situation of water in schools is summarized in the table below.

Table 1.1.13: Sources of Water in Schools by Region Region Pipe-borne Borehole Well Other Stream Indeterminate All

East 245 442 499 154 279 33 1,652

North 252 387 904 145 955 39 2,682

South 124 458 592 57 566 31 1,828

West 842 84 362 106 84 31 1,509

National 1,463 1,371 2,357 462 1,884 134 7,671

19% 18% 31% 6% 25% 2%

If the assumption is made that water collected from a stream is untreated, it means

that students attending 25% of the schools in Sierra Leone only have unsafe water at

their disposal whilst at school. If another assumption is made that 25% of the wells

in use are untreated, it would raise the percentage of schools with unsafe water to

approximately 32%. Given that water pipes in urban areas are often ruptured and

13 Making Progress

take weeks or months to get repaired, there is no guarantee that even pipe-borne

water is always safe.

Children having access only to unsafe water are prone to diarrheal diseases and

worms, both of which impact negatively on school attendance. The situation is made

worse when schools have no toilet facilities, non-functioning toilet facilities and/or

inadequate facilities. The toilet facilities situation as captured by the November

2010 census is summarized in the table below.

Table 1.1.14: Functioning Toilets in Schools by Region Region No Response No Functioning Toilet Functioning Toilet All

East 18 645 989 1,652

North 33 1,179 1,470 2,682

South 4 900 924 1,828

West 12 210 1,287 1,509

National 67 2,934 4,670 7,671

The table above shows that in November 2010, a large number of schools (2,934 i.e.

38%) had no functioning toilets. The situation is even more alarming at the regional

level. Over 40% of schools in the Northern and Southern Regions have no

functioning toilet as the table below shows.

Table 1.1.15: Percentage of Schools with Non-Functioning Toilets and Unsafe Water by Region Region No Functioning Toilet Unsafe Water

East 39% 17%

North 44% 36%

South 49% 31%

West 14% 6%

National 38% 25%

The table above shows the Northern and Southern Regions to have the highest

percentage of schools with non-functioning toilets and unsafe water. This is a

dangerous situation health-wise for school going students and requires urgent and

immediate attention.

14 Making Progress

1.2 Local Councils

1.2.1 Number of Schools

The distribution of schools by Local Council and chiefdom is rather uneven. The

table below shows the situation at the Local Council level.

Table 1.2. 1: Distribution of Schools by Local Councils, Type and Totals

Council Boys Girls Co-ed All % of Total

Kailahun District Council 1 1 398 400 5.2%

Kenema City Council 6 5 209 220 2.9%

Kenema District Council 1 1 537 539 7.0%

Koidu - New Sembehun City Council 9 14 110 133 1.7%

Kono District Council 3 2 355 360 4.7%

Bombali District Council 0 2 513 515 6.7%

Kambia District Council 0 1 392 393 5.1%

Koinadugu District Council 0 1 423 424 5.5%

Makeni City Council 2 4 95 101 1.3%

Port Loko District Council 4 7 644 655 8.5%

Tonkolili District Council 5 10 579 594 7.7%

Bo City Council 8 9 218 235 3.1%

Bo District Council 7 5 486 498 6.5%

Bonthe District Council 1 1 239 241 3.1%

Bonthe Municipal Council 1 1 15 17 0.2%

Moyamba District Council 5 9 532 546 7.1%

Pujehun District Council 4 3 284 291 3.8%

Freetown City Council 28 30 1,018 1,076 14.0%

Western Rural District Council 1 4 428 433 5.6%

National 86 110 7,475 7,671

1% 1% 97%

The dominance of Freetown as shown by the table above and the chart below is

worth noting. The Freetown City Council area has more schools than 6 other local

councils combined.

Chart 1.2. 1: % of All Schools to be found in Local Council Area

Although similar, the distribution of the total number of schools differs a little from

the distribution of the number of schools by school level as the tables below show.

5.2% 2.9%

7.0%

1.7%

4.7% 6.7%

5.1% 5.5%

1.3%

8.5% 7.7%

3.1%

6.5%

3.1%

0.2%

7.1%

3.8%

14.0%

5.6%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0%

10.0% 12.0% 14.0% 16.0%

15 Making Progress

Table 1.2. 2: Numbers of Schools by Local Council and School Level

Council Pre-Primary Primary JSS SSS All

Kailahun District Council 19 337 34 10 400

Kenema City Council 35 139 35 11 220

Kenema District Council 10 494 32 3 539

Koidu - New Sembehun City Council 20 77 27 9 133

Kono District Council 26 306 25 3 360

Bombali District Council 4 460 48 3 515

Kambia District Council 14 325 47 7 393

Koinadugu District Council 11 374 34 5 424

Makeni City Council 14 57 21 9 101

Port Loko District Council 30 519 96 10 655

Tonkolili District Council 17 498 67 12 594

Bo City Council 43 138 43 11 235

Bo District Council 12 431 46 9 498

Bonthe District Council 22 194 22 3 241

Bonthe Municipal Council 2 9 4 2 17

Moyamba District Council 15 473 47 11 546

Pujehun District Council 6 268 13 4 291

Freetown City Council 249 584 171 72 1,076

Western Rural District Council 95 248 76 14 433

National 644 5,931 888 208 7,671

The above table shows Freetown to have more schools at each school level than

other Local Councils. It also shows that for each Local Council, the number of

primary schools exceeds the number of schools at the other levels. The extent to

which the number of primary schools exceeds schools at the other levels is shown

more clearly by the table below.

Table 1.2. 3: Number of Pre-Primary, JS and SS Schools for every 100 Primary by Local Council

Council Pre-Primary Primary JSS SSS

Kailahun District Council 6 100 10 3

Kenema City Council 25 100 25 8

Kenema District Council 2 100 6 1

Koidu - New Sembehun City Council 26 100 35 12

Kono District Council 8 100 8 1

Bombali District Council 1 100 10 1

Kambia District Council 4 100 14 2

Koinadugu District Council 3 100 9 1

Makeni City Council 25 100 37 16

Port Loko District Council 6 100 18 2

Tonkolili District Council 3 100 13 2

Bo City Council 31 100 31 8

Bo District Council 3 100 11 2

Bonthe District Council 11 100 11 2

Bonthe Municipal Council 22 100 44 22

Moyamba District Council 3 100 10 2

Pujehun District Council 2 100 5 1

Freetown City Council 43 100 29 12

Western Rural District Council 38 100 31 6

National 11 100 15 4

16 Making Progress

Students completing primary school should move to junior secondary in order to

complete 9 years of formal basic education yet no Local Council has as many as 50

JSSs for every 100 primary school. In fact the numbers suggest that very few primary

school graduates move to JSS in the Pujehun District, Kenema District, Kono District

and Koinadugu District council areas. This will be confirmed when the enrolment

data is analyzed.

Given that Pre-Primary schooling is to become part of ‘basic education’ the numbers

in the table above suggest that a great deal of work has to be done to establish more

pre-primary institutions/facilities if the proposal is to be more than words on paper

for many years even though it is anticipated that many ‘less formal’ and non-formal

private provisions will come into existence.

The number of senior secondary schools for each 100 primary clearly suggests that

not many are expected to complete the schooling cycle. This has implications for the

development of the nation.

The Local Council data conceals the fact that several councils lack all levels of

schooling in a number of chiefdoms. The table below indicates the situation.

Table 1.2. 4: No. of Chiefdoms without Specified Level of Schooling by Local Council

Local Council No. Of Chiefdoms Without Est. Total No. of

Chiefdoms / Zones Pre-Primary JSS SSS




















National 85 15 100 167 Note that apart from Freetown, the number of zones making up the city council area is taken as 1 even though more than 1

chiefdom may contribute parts to the city area. This minimizes double counting

The table above indicates that apart from Western Rural, all district councils have

work to do in order to ensure that all levels of schooling are available in all their

chiefdoms. A consequence of not having schools at the next level is that children end

17 Making Progress

their education prematurely and their potential to help develop the nation is not

realized.

1.2.2 Classrooms in Need of Repairs

Even when a school is available in a chiefdom there is only limited guarantee that

the classroom condition would be conducive for learning. The table below shows the

percentage of classrooms in responding schools that are in need of repairs by Local

Council.

Table 1.2. 5: % of Classrooms in need of Repairs by Local Council and School Level

Council Pre-Primary Primary JSS SSS ALL

Kailahun District Council 53% 48% 48% 32% 47%

Kenema City Council 57% 57% 39% 34% 50%

Kenema District Council 100% 68% 42% 70% 65%

Koidu - New Sembehun City Council 58% 54% 50% 54% 53%

Kono District Council 69% 65% 46% 42% 63%

Bombali District Council 50% 64% 49% 13% 62%

Kambia District Council 43% 59% 53% 54% 58%

Koinadugu District Council 67% 69% 67% 74% 69%

Makeni City Council 23% 48% 25% 19% 36%

Port Loko District Council 53% 54% 39% 44% 51%

Tonkolili District Council 78% 69% 53% 33% 66%

Bo City Council 68% 61% 50% 33% 55%

Bo District Council 70% 64% 55% 41% 62%

Bonthe District Council 82% 58% 67% 24% 59%

Bonthe Municipal Council 0% 62% 44% 38% 52%

Moyamba District Council 61% 69% 53% 58% 66%

Pujehun District Council 70% 64% 44% 70% 63%

Freetown City Council 39% 49% 38% 40% 44%

Western Rural District Council 54% 58% 57% 46% 56%

National 48% 60% 46% 40% 55%

The above table shows all Local Councils to have classroom repairs issues to

address. All pre-primary classrooms in responding schools under the Kenema

District Council are in need of repairs. 17 out of the 19 Local Councils have at least

one level of schooling in which over 50% of available classrooms in responding

school, need repairs. Given the importance of an environment conducive to the

learning process the percentages the classroom repairs situation is rather worrying.

1.2.3 Unapproved Schools

According to the census data many schools at all levels are operating illegally. The

approval status of schools at the pre-primary level is low. For example, none of the

pre-primary schools operating in Bombali District have been approved, and only

15% of those operating in the Koidu – New Sembehun City Council area have been

approved. At the higher levels, 67% and 68% of the primary and junior secondary

schools respectively in Koinadugu District are yet to be approved whilst 60% of

senior secondary schools in Port Loko District are also awaiting approval. These

numbers suggest some worrying MEST shortcomings that need urgent attention.

18 Making Progress

Details of the approval status of schools at the various levels by local council area

can be found in Annex 2. The chart below shows the percentage of all schools

combined that are unapproved.

Chart 1.2. 2: % of Unapproved Schools by Local Council

The chart above suggests that MEST is losing control of the establishment of schools

in a number of local council areas and that urgent action to address the situation

needs to be taken. It also shows that it is more than a rural : urban problem since for

example both Bo and Kenema City Councils have a greater percentage of

unapproved schools than their more rural counterparts i.e. Bo District and Kenema

District Council respectively.

1.2.4 School Ownership / Proprietorship

As indicated earlier, the GOSL does not own all schools. The ownership /

proprietorship situation of each local council is shown in the table below.

Table 1.2. 6: Number of Schools by School Proprietor / Owner and Local Council

Council GOSL Private Community Mission Other % GOSL

Kailahun District Council 75 2 17 303 3 19%

Kenema City Council 18 44 8 149 1 8%

Kenema District Council 70 0 33 436 0 13%

Koidu - New Sembehun City Council 4 23 44 60 2 3%

Kono District Council 56 8 82 213 1 16%

Bombali District Council 61 3 151 298 2 12%

Kambia District Council 79 5 56 253 0 20%

Koinadugu District Council 75 4 118 225 2 18%

Makeni City Council 10 7 6 72 6 10%

Port Loko District Council 154 23 40 433 5 24%

Tonkolili District Council 80 4 65 442 3 13%

Bo City Council 21 44 7 163 0 9%

Bo District Council 106 9 37 343 3 21%

Bonthe District Council 50 5 25 158 3 21%

Bonthe Municipal Council 2 0 2 13 0 12%

Moyamba District Council 66 15 41 412 12 12%

Pujehun District Council 55 2 22 212 0 19%

Freetown City Council 113 433 110 407 13 11%

Western Rural District Council 57 114 62 198 2 13%

National 1,152 745 926 4,790 58 15%

27%

43% 31%

51%

30%

54%

39%

66%

26% 36% 37%

25% 18%

26%

0%

26%

7%

26%

48% 34%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

% Unapproved

19 Making Progress

It is worth noting from the table above that in each local council area, missions

provide the greatest number of schools. It is also worth noting that in no local

council area is the GOSL ownership of schools more than 24%. In fact in the Kenema

City, Koidu – New Sembehun City and Bo City Council areas, GOSL ownership is less

than 10%.

At the different levels of schooling, the pattern of ownership also differs, but

missions are the biggest owners of schools in almost all local council areas at all

levels. GOSL ownership is greatest at the primary level whilst private ownership is

most marked at the pre-primary and senior secondary levels. The tables of

ownership by local council and level of schooling can be found in Annex 3. Given

below is a chart of the percentage of schools owned by the GOSL at the primary level.

Chart 1.2. 3: % of Primary Schools in each Local Council Owned by the GOSL

It is worth noting from the chart above that the percentage of primary schools

actually owned by the GOSL is quite small even though the percentage of public

schools is high, as is noted below.

1.2.5 Public and Private Schools

Private schools are largely dependent on the ability of the parents of their students

to pay for their continued existence. Unsurprisingly therefore they tend to be found

greater numbers in urban areas as the table below shows.

Table 1.2. 7: Distribution of Public and Private Schools by Local Council

Council Public Private % Private

Kailahun District Council 398 2 1%

Kenema City Council 176 44 20%

Kenema District Council 539 0 0%

Koidu - New Sembehun City Council 110 23 17%

Kono District Council 352 8 2%

Bombali District Council 512 3 1%

Kambia District Council 388 5 1%

21%

8%

12%

5%

17%

13%

22%

18%

12%

27%

14% 11%

23% 24% 22%

14%

19%

13%

21% 17%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

20 Making Progress

Council Public Private % Private

Koinadugu District Council 420 4 1%

Makeni City Council 94 7 7%

Port Loko District Council 632 23 4%

Tonkolili District Council 590 4 1%

Bo City Council 191 44 19%

Bo District Council 489 9 2%

Bonthe District Council 236 5 2%

Bonthe Municipal Council 17 0 0%

Moyamba District Council 531 15 3%

Pujehun District Council 289 2 1%

Freetown City Council 643 433 40%

Western Rural District Council 319 114 26%

National 6,926 745 10%

The high percentage of schools in the Freetown City Council is worth noting as is the

low percentage of private schools in the Makeni City Council area. The low

percentage of private schools in the more rural local council areas indicate that

private providers find those areas unattractive.

1.2.6 Water and Toilet Facilities in Schools

Safe water and a clean, hygienic environment are essential for pupils to fully benefit

from the learning opportunities available in a school. Diarrheal diseases are

prevalent in areas which lack safe drinking water, especially during the dry season.

The November 2010 census reveals that a large number of schools in many local

council areas rely on supplies they collect from a stream for their water. Surprisingly

even some schools in the Freetown City Council area report getting their water from

a stream. The table below provides a picture of the situation.

Table 1.2. 8: Main Sources of Water of Schools by Local Council

Local Council Pipe-borne Borehole Well Other Stream Indeterminate All

Kailahun District Council 21 163 83 76 56 1 400

Kenema City Council 74 46 91 5 0 4 220

Kenema District Council 101 161 122 21 123 11 539

Koidu - New Sembehun City Council 4 17 84 18 0 10 133

Kono District Council 45 55 119 34 100 7 360

Bombali District Council 26 143 103 52 186 5 515

Kambia District Council 51 45 144 24 128 1 393

Koinadugu District Council 44 43 141 34 157 5 424

Makeni City Council 6 31 38 5 12 9 101

Port Loko District Council 58 44 306 21 208 18 655

Tonkolili District Council 67 81 172 9 264 1 594

Bo City Council 10 89 132 2 0 2 235

Bo District Council 62 207 57 27 126 19 498

Bonthe District Council 16 25 101 4 90 5 241

Bonthe Municipal Council 3 0 14 0 0 0 17

Moyamba District Council 17 14 256 5 253 1 546

Pujehun District Council 16 123 32 19 97 4 291

Freetown City Council 694 45 194 77 41 25 1,076

21 Making Progress

Local Council Pipe-borne Borehole Well Other Stream Indeterminate All

Western Rural District Council 148 39 168 29 43 6 433

National 1,463 1,371 2,357 462 1,884 134 7,671

Given the efforts by the GOSL and its partners to provide schools with wells, the

number of schools still relying on water from a stream is surprising.

Untreated water from a stream is unsafe as is water from an open and/or untreated

well. If the assumption is made that schools which collect water from a stream do

not treat it, then percentage of schools in a local council area without safe drinking

water is as shown in the chart below. If the additional assumption is made that 25%

of wells are untreated, then the situation is as shown in the chart.

Chart 1.2. 4: % of Schools with Potentially Unsafe Water by Local Council

The picture painted by the chart above is alarming. It shows that more than 30% of

schools in many local council areas do not provide safe driniking water for their

students.

The potential for students experiencing problems from diarrheal diseases is

increased when in addition to having access to only unsafe water they also have no

functioning toilets to use. The toilet availability situation in the local council areas is

shown in the table below.

Table 1.2. 9: Numbers of Schools with Functioning Toilets or Otherwise by Local Council

Local Council No

Response No Functioning

Toilet Functioning

Toilet All












0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70% Stream

22 Making Progress

Local Council No

Response No Functioning

Toilet Functioning

Toilet All







Freetown City Council 8 87 981 1,076


National 67 2,934 4,670 7,671

A large number of schools reported having no functioning toilets in November 2010.

In a number of local councils, schools with no functioning toilets outnumber the

others as is shown in the chart below.

Chart 1.2. 5: Percentage of Schools with No Functioning Toilets by Local Council

From the chart above, it appears that the percentage of schools without functioning

toilets is smaller in the more urban than the more rural local council areas. The fact

that there are schools with no functioning toilets in all local council areas is an issue

of concern.

Schools with unsafe water and no functioning toilets endanger the health and well-

being of their staff and students. The extent to which unsafe water and non-

functioning toilets are found in schools in local council areas is shown in the chart

below.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

23 Making Progress

Chart 1.2. 6: % of Schools with Unsafe Drinking Water and % with No Functioning Toilets by Local Council

The chart above suggests that many local councils could find themselves faced with

large scale diarrheal problems in their student population any time soon.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70% No Functioning Toilet

Unsafe Water

24 Making Progress

1.3 Changes in School Numbers

The 2006 Country Status Report on education in Sierra Leone noted that pre-primary education was “mainly private” in 2003. It also noted that “two-thirds of pre-primary education institutions are located in the Western Area” The 2010 census data indicates that collectively, other categories of proprietors now provide more pre-primary schooling than the private. It also indicates that a smaller fraction of pre-primary institutions (approximately half) are now to be found in the Western Area.

The number of schools has increased tremendously since the 2004/05 school year.

Between 2004/05 and 2010/11, 1,633 new primary and 816 new secondary schools

were established. In percentage terms the growth in school numbers was greatest at

the secondary level as the table below shows.

Table 1.3. 1: Number of Primary and Secondary Schools 2004/05 and 2010/11

Primary Secondary

2004/05 2010/11 % Change 2004/05 2010/11 % Change

4,298 5,931 38% 280 1,096 291%

Given the large disparity in the number of primary and secondary schools, it is likely

that growth in school numbers will continue to be at a faster rate at the secondary

than the primary level for some more years as the policy of universal basic

education is implemented more fully and graduates from the junior to the senior

secondary level increase in numbers.

In terms of the provision of primary and secondary schooling, the percentage

changes since the 2004/05 school year are as shown in the chart below.

Chart 1.3. 1: % of Primary and Secondary Schools that are GOSL, Private, Government-Assisted – 2004/05 and 2010/11

The chart above indicates that between the 2004/05 and 2010/11 school years, the

percentage of non-GOSL schools receiving government assistance decreased at both

the primary and secondary levels whilst the percentage of GOSL and private schools

increased. The changes are more marked at the primary than secondary level. The

large increase in the percentage of schools that are private at the secondary level is

worth noting. It should also be noted that the percentage of schools that are GOSL is

lower at the secondary level than at the primary.

11% 17%

7% 8% 4% 5% 3% 17%

85% 78%

90%

76%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Prim 04/05 Prim 10/11 Sec 04/05 Sec 10/11

GOSL Private Govt-Assisted

25 Making Progress

Section 2: The Students

2.1 National and Regional

Preamble

As had happened in the past, many heads of schools inflated the enrolment data they

submitted for the 2010 national school census. Some of the inflation was spotted

and corrective measures taken during the data collection stage but many more only

came to light at the time of the preliminary analysis of the data.

Unlike the practice in previous years when time, financial and other constraints

made it impossible to take immediate corrective measures, the decision was taken in

early 2011 to carry out a field validation exercise. Such was the scale of the inflation

that the validation exercise had to be large scale, involving a minimum of 15% of

schools at all levels in all local council areas. A stratified representative sample of

schools from all local council areas was taken and their enrolment validated in terms

of their true enrolment numbers in November 2010.

The validation exercise involved experienced staff from MEST and Statistics Sierra

Leone visiting sampled schools and relying not only on the class registers for

attendance at the time of the census and statements from the heads of schools but

also doing some random physical checks as well as asking students about

recollections of how many had left and/or arrived in the class since November 2010.

The validated data was used to arrive at the revised enrolment numbers which are

detailed in this section of the report.

Details

2.1.1 Enrolment Totals

In November 2010, there were approximately one million five hundred and eighty

four thousand, five hundred and eighty-six (1,584,586) students in pre-primary,

primary, junior secondary and senior secondary schools in Sierra Leone. The

distribution of these students by region and sex is shown in the table below.

Table 2.1. 1: Student Enrolment by Region and Sex

Region All Levels

Male Female Both

East 178,635 165,302 343,937

North 284,586 242,397 526,983

South 193,743 175,924 369,667

West 174,266 169,733 343,999

National 831,230 753,356 1,584,586

G/B 0.91

% 52% 48%

26 Making Progress

The relative magnitudes of the total school level enrolments of the regions are

shown more clearly in the pie-chart below.

Chart 2.1. 1: Percentage Distribution of School Level Student Enrolment by Region

The above table and chart show that the Northern Region has more school going

students than the other regions. In fact just over a third (33%) of all school going

students are to be found in the Northern Region. Just under half (48%) of all school

going students are female. This accounts for the fact that the girls to boys ratio (G/B)

is less than 1 (0.91). It is worth noting that even though the Northern Region has the

greatest number of female students (46%) it has the least percentage of students

that are female. Notwithstanding the latter it should be noted that the percentage of

students attending school in the Northern Region that are female has increased

greatly in the last few years – as will be shown later. The Western Area has the most

favourable G/B ratio. In the Western Area, more girls than boys are enrolled at the

pre-primary and primary levels.

The aggregated enrolment picture painted by the numbers in the table above is a

little misleading as the Northern Region leads only in terms of primary enrolment as

the total enrolment disaggregated by level of schooling in the table below shows.

Table 2.1. 2: Student Enrolment by Region, Level and Sex

Region Pre-Primary Enrolment Primary Enrolment JSS Enrolment SSS Enrolment

Male Female Both Male Female Both Male Female Both Male Female Both

East 3,239 3,380 6,619 135,479 134,342 269,821 28,076 22,057 50,133 11,841 5,523 17,364

North 2,769 3,054 5,823 222,581 200,567 423,148 42,764 31,207 73,971 16,472 7,569 24,041

South 3,044 2,963 6,007 150,986 144,795 295,781 25,909 20,283 46,192 13,804 7,883 21,687

West 9,195 9,707 18,902 102,558 103,195 205,753 37,347 36,846 74,193 25,166 19,985 45,151

National 18,247 19,104 37,351 611,604 582,899 1,194,503 134,096 110,393 244,489 67,283 40,960 108,243

G/B Ratio 1.05 0.95 0.82 0.61

% at Level 2% 3% 2% 74% 77% 75% 16% 15% 15% 8% 5% 7%

Enrolment at the primary level is far greater than enrolment at the other levels

combined. 75% of all enrolment at school level is due to enrolment at the primary

level. The pre-primary, junior and senior secondary are responsible for 2%, 15%

and 7% respectively of school level enrolment.

Whilst the Northern Region has more school students overall than all the other

regions, it has the smallest number of pre-primary students as well as fewer JSS and

East 22%

North 33%

South 23%

West 22%

27 Making Progress

SSS students than the Western Area. The large number of primary school students

enrolled in the North is responsible for its overall larger total enrolment than the

other regions. It is apparent from enrolments at the primary level that the Northern

Region is going to have the largest enrolment at the secondary level in the next few

years. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has to ensure that

sufficient provisions are made to meet this inevitable rise in secondary level

enrolment. In the meanwhile, the causes for the massive difference in enrolment in

the Northern Region between the primary and junior secondary levels (423,148 –

primary, 73,971 – JSS) need to be urgently addressed.

It is interesting to note that the percentage of girls enrolled, and hence the G/B ratio

decreases as the schooling ladder is ascended. This indicates that a smaller

percentage of girls than boys progress from a lower to a higher level. The drop is

particularly noticeable between the JSS and SSS levels and, to a lesser extent,

between the primary and JSS levels.

2.1.2 Pre-Primary and Primary Grade Enrolments

The level totals conceal important enrolment information which only becomes

apparent when grade enrolment numbers are analysed. The tables below show the

national grade totals.

Table 2.1. 3: National Pre-Primary and Primary Aggregate Grade Enrolment Totals

Pre-Primary Primary

NI NII NIII Class I Class II Class III Class IV Class V Class VI

16,838 11,904 8,609 253,191 250,896 220,393 192,400 157,769 119,853

The low pre-primary level enrolment shown in the table above is a consequence of

the fact that pre-primary school attendance is not mandatory. Pre-primary schools

are much fewer than primary and are largely restricted to the urban areas. The large

grade enrolments at the primary level reflect the relative success of the campaign to

get children to attend school.

Regionally, grade enrolments are as shown in the table below at the pre-primary and

primary levels. Table 2.1. 4: Regional Pre-Primary and Primary Aggregate Grade Enrolment Totals

Region NI NII NIII Class I Class II Class III Class IV Class V Class VI

East 3,181 2,099 1,347 56,914 57,590 50,414 44,544 34,837 25,522

North 3,068 1,771 1,000 91,127 89,716 79,339 67,073 55,229 40,664

South 2,784 2,024 1,206 72,700 64,996 52,681 44,605 35,355 25,445

West 7,805 6,010 5,057 32,451 38,595 37,959 36,178 32,348 28,222

At the pre-primary level, enrolment decreases with increasing grade level in all

regions but at the primary level enrolment in Class II is higher than in Class I in the

Eastern Region and Western Area. The cause of the latter is unknown but grade

repetition and fewer drop-outs are likely to be factors.

28 Making Progress

At both the pre-primary and primary levels, it is noticeable that enrolment

decreases as the grade ladder is ascended. As already indicated, this is largely due to

large annual increases in enrolment and significant numbers dropping out annually.

More is said on the matter later.

The difference in enrolment between the first and last grades is not the same for the

different regions as shown in the table below.

Table 2.1. 5: Enrolment in Final Grade as a Percentage of Enrolment in First Grade

Region Pre-Primary Primary

East 42% 45%

North 33% 45%

South 43% 35%

West 65% 87%

At both the pre-primary and primary levels, it is noticeable that only in the Western

Area is enrolment in the final grade more than 50% that in the first grade. At the

pre-primary level in the Northern Region, enrolment in Nursery III is just a third of

that in Nursery I. Similarly in the Southern Region enrolment in Class 6 is just 35%

of that in Class 1. These numbers are the probable consequence of rapidly increasing

enrolments and significant wastage through dropping out.

2.1.3 Grade Enrolment of Girls at the Pre-Primary and Primary Levels

The aggregate enrolment totals do not show the sex difference in enrolment at each

grade level. Shown below are the enrolments by sex for each grade at the pre-

primary and primary levels.

Table 2.1. 6: Pre-Primary Enrolment by Region, Grade and Sex

Region

N I N II N III All

Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Both

East 1,546 1,634 1,042 1,057 654 693 3,242 3,385 6,627

North 1,473 1,595 832 939 471 529 2,776 3,063 5,839

South 1,415 1,369 1,023 1,000 608 597 3,047 2,966 6,013

West 3,840 3,965 2,919 3,091 2,424 2,633 9,182 9,690 18,872

National 8,274 8,563 5,816 6,088 4,157 4,452 18,247 19,104 37,351

National % Girls 51% 51% 52% 51%

The above table shows the Southern Region to have more boys than girls enrolled in

every pre-primary school grade. This is unlike the situation with the other regions

which have more girls than boys enrolled in every grade. The cause of the different

sex enrolment situation in the Southern Region is unknown.

Overall, more girls are enrolled than boys in every pre-primary grade.

Table 2.1. 7: Primary Enrolment by Region, Grade and Sex Region

Class I Class II Class III Class IV Class V Class VI

Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls

East 28,716 28,198 28,457 29,133 24,895 25,519 22,419 22,125 17,675 17,161 13,317 12,205

29 Making Progress

Region

Class I Class II Class III Class IV Class V Class VI


North 48,412 42,715 46,902 42,814 42,070 37,268 34,897 32,175 28,719 26,511 21,581 19,083

South 37,926 34,773 33,272 31,724 27,169 25,512 22,350 22,255 17,910 17,445 12,358 13,087

West 16,536 15,916 19,048 19,546 18,895 19,064 18,085 18,094 15,835 16,513 14,159 14,062

National 131,589 121,602 127,680 123,217 113,029 107,364 97,751 94,649 80,139 77,630 61,416 58,437

National % Girls 48% 49% 49% 49% 49% 49%

G/B Ratio 0.92 0.97 0.95 0.97 0.97 0.95

At the primary level the grade enrolment situation suggests that sex enrolment

parity could be achieved in the next few years but at different times for the different

regions. In the Eastern Region, 2 grades have more girls enrolled than boys whilst in

the Western Area, 4 grades have more girls than boys enrolled. Already, the Western

Area has achieved parity with the Eastern Region closely behind.

2.1.4 Grade Enrolments at the Junior and Senior Secondary Levels

Table 2.1. 8: National Junior Secondary and Senior Secondary Aggregate Grade Enrolment Totals

Junior Secondary Senior Secondary

JSI JSII JSIII SSI SSII SSIII

93,264 85,267 65,959 36,997 39,639 31,607

Even though the numbers refer to the same year, the difference in enrolment

between Class 6 and JSS 1 suggests that, notwithstanding differences in numbers

due to differences in annual enrolment rates, many do not progress from the

primary to the junior secondary level. This suggests that many complete their

schooling at the end of primary and not the end of the ‘basic education’ cycle i.e.

primary + JSS. Possible reasons for the foregoing are many – they include availability

of schools, fees, competing demands, etc. The reasons are discussed in other

documents from MEST and its partners.

As in the case of the preceding levels, enrolment decreases as the grade ladder is

ascended i.e. enrolment in JSIII is less than enrolment in JSII which is less than

enrolment in JSI. At the senior secondary level, enrolment increases in moving from

SSI to SSII. As will be noted later, this increase has not been caused by a large

number of repeaters. A possibility is that some candidates who have entered and

failed the WASSCE and would have to pay for a repeat of the examination seek and

gain entry to the SS2 of a different school through some form of subterfuge as new

entrants. They cannot gain entry to SS3 because of ‘continuous assessment scores’

requirements and related issues hence their opting for SS2. This boosts enrolment in

SS2.

It is worth noting that at every level, the disparity in enrolment between the first

and last grade of the level is large. Even with annual increases in intake, the

30 Making Progress

magnitude of the disparities clearly suggests that at each level, dropping out is a

challenge.

Regionally, the aggregate enrolment picture at the junior and senior secondary

levels is as shown in the table below.

Table 2.1. 9: Regional Junior and Senior Secondary Aggregate Grade Enrolment Totals

Region JSI JSII JSIII SSI SSII SSIII

East 18,970 17,942 13,222 5,982 6,135 5,247

North 29,934 25,817 18,220 8,167 9,004 6,870

South 19,240 15,900 11,052 8,064 7,562 6,061

West 25,120 25,608 23,465 14,783 16,939 13,429

At the junior secondary level grade enrolment decreases with increase in grade in 3

regions. Only in the Western Area is enrolment in JSII greater than in JSI and JSIII. A

similar phenomenon (i.e. a high next to final grade enrolment) is observed at the

senior secondary level in all regions except the South. As will be noted later, class

repetition alone cannot account for the phenomenon.

2.1.5 Grade Enrolment of Girls at the Junior and Senior Secondary Levels

The grade enrolment numbers suggest that enrolment at the junior secondary level

is increasing more rapidly in the Eastern, Northern and Southern Regions than it is

in the Western Area, notwithstanding the probable difference in the drop-out rate.

Junior and senior secondary enrolment by region and sex is shown in the table

below.

Table 2.1. 10: Junior and Senior Secondary Enrolment by Region, Grade and Sex

Region

JSS I JSS II JSS III SSS I SSS II SSS III


East 10,478 8,492 9,715 8,226 7,883 5,339 3,930 2,052 4,170 1,965 3,741 1,506

North 16,767 13,167 15,070 10,747 10,927 7,293 5,263 2,904 6,177 2,827 5,032 1,838

South 10,443 8,797 9,039 6,861 6,428 4,625 4,733 3,331 5,027 2,535 4,044 2,017

West 12,278 12,842 12,945 12,663 12,124 11,341 7,283 7,501 9,779 7,160 8,105 5,324

National 49,966 43,298 46,769 38,498 37,361 28,598 21,209 15,788 25,153 14,487 20,922 10,685

National % Girls 46% 45% 43% 43% 37% 34%

The table above shows that more boys than girls are enrolled in every region and

every grade at the junior and senior secondary level, except JSI and SSI in the

Western Area. Additionally, the table shows that the increase in enrolment between

JSI and JSII in the Western Area as well as the increase in enrolment between SSI and

SSII in the Eastern Region, Northern Regions and Western Area is due to boys alone.

31 Making Progress

The chart below shows more clearly the relationships mentioned above. It also gives

an indication of the magnitude of the difference between enrolment in the different

grades and different levels.

Chart 2.1. 2: Enrolment at the Junior and Senior Secondary Levels by Region, Grade and Sex

The chart above clearly shows that the enrolment of boys and girls are much closer

in the Western Area than in the other regions. This is confirmed by the table below

which shows the percentage of girls enrolled in each junior and senior secondary

grade by region.

Table 2.1. 11: Percentage of Girls Enrolled in Each Junior and Senior Secondary Grade by Region

Region JSI JSII JSIII SSI SSII SSIII

East 45% 46% 40% 34% 32% 29%

North 44% 42% 40% 36% 31% 27%

South 46% 43% 42% 41% 34% 33%

West 51% 49% 48% 51% 42% 40%

National 46% 45% 43% 43% 37% 34%

The above table indicates that much work still has to be done in order to achieve

gender parity particularly at the senior secondary level and in regions outside the

Western Area.

At the pre-primary and pre-primary levels the percentage of girls in each grade is

fairly constant as the table below shows. One suggestion from the foregoing is that

the retention rate of girls is similar to that of boys i.e. girls are dropping out at

approximately the same rate as boys at the two levels. At the JS and the SS levels the

percentage of girls enrolled decreases with increase in grade i.e. there is a smaller

percentage of girls in the upper than in the lower grades. This is most marked at the

SS level. One possible suggestion is that girls drop out at a slightly higher rate than

boys as the secondary ladder is ascended. The other suggestion is simply that a

larger percentage of girls enrol annually. The probability is that both of the

foregoing contribute to what is observed but this has to be confirmed.

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000


JSS I Boys JSS I Girls

JSS II Boys JSS II Girls

JSS III Boys JSS III Girls

SSS I Boys SSS I Girls

SSS II Boys SSS II Girls

32 Making Progress

Table 2.1. 12: National % of Girls Enrolled by Grade

NI NII NIII Class

I Class

II Class

III Class

IV Class

V Class

VI JSI JSII JSIII SSI SSII SSIII

51% 51% 52% 48% 49% 49% 49% 49% 49% 46% 45% 43% 43% 37% 34%

It is worth noting that the difference between the percentages of girls in the last

grade of pre-primary and first of primary as well as the last grade of primary and the

first grade of junior secondary is larger than the within level grade differences.

2.1.6 Grade Repetition

A major contributor to dropping-out is grade repetition. The more a student repeats the greater the possibility of dropping out. Repetition is usually measured in terms of a repetition rate. The UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS) defines the repetition rate as “the proportion of pupils from a cohort enrolled in a given grade at a given school-year who study in the same grade in the following school-year.” Its computation ideally requires reliable grade enrolment data for two consecutive school years. The enrolment data should include the number of new entrants and repeaters. In this instance, reliable enrolment data is not available for the 2009/10 school year. Assumptions can be made but these are detailed in the Country Status Report on Education which is being drafted in parallel with this report. What are presented in the paragraphs that follow are comments based on the percentage of repeaters per grade in 2010/11. The latter is different from the repetition rate as defined by the UIS. The table below shows the grade repetition situation at the primary and secondary level in November 2010.

Table 2.1. 13: % of Repeaters per Grade at the Primary and Secondary Levels

Class I Class II Class III Class IV Class V Class VI JSI JSII JSIII SSI SSII SSIII

14% 17% 18% 17% 18% 8% 13% 16% 8% 15% 13% 12%

The percentages of repeaters per grade are high especially at the primary level.

These high percentages say a great deal about the education system and need urgent

attention.

At each level (primary, junior secondary, senior secondary) the percentage of

repeaters is least in the final grade. The drop in percentage of repeaters between the

grade preceding and the final grade is quite dramatic at the primary and JSS levels.

This is partly caused by the fact that the final grades are examination grades and

after sitting most students move on to the next level or leave school. Another

contributing factor is the greater expenses associated with examination classes

which, together with the more robust monitoring of external examination repetition

recently adopted by MEST and WAEC, deters those who realise that they are not

sufficiently well prepared from a pointless repeat of the class.

33 Making Progress

The percentages of repeaters across the levels for both sexes are shown in the table

below. The table indicates that the percentage of girls repeating is slightly higher

than that for boys at every level. It also shows that the percentage of repeaters at the

primary level is higher than at the junior and senior secondary levels. Overall, the

percentages of repeaters are high and action needs to be taken to bring them down

and improve the efficiency of the system.

Table 2.1. 14: % of Repeaters by Education Level and Sex

Repetition Rate

Prim_Boys Prim_Girls Prim_Both JSS_Boys JSS_Girls JSS_Both SSS_Boys SSS_Girls SSS_Both

15% 16% 16% 11% 14% 13% 12% 15% 13%

2.1.7 Enrolment in Schools belonging to Different Categories / Groups of Proprietors

As indicated in the preceding sections, there are five main categories of

proprietors/owners of schools in Sierra Leone. The distribution of the 1,584,586

school students among these proprietors is shown in the chart below.

Chart 2.1. 3: Total Number of Students Enrolled in Schools Belonging to Different Groups of Proprietors

The chart above indicates that the great majority of school students in Sierra Leone

attend schools having religious missions as their proprietors. Students attending

GOSL schools are less than a third of those attending mission schools. Even so, it

should be noted that virtually all mission schools are government-assisted and are

largely GOSL schools in all but name. Students attending private schools are fewer

than those attending community schools and much less than those attending GOSL

and mission schools. The foregoing is shown more clearly in the chart below which

shows the percentage of the total student enrolment attending each category of

school.

318,954

94,863 161,417

987,720

21,632 0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

GOSL All Private All Community All Mission All Other All

34 Making Progress

Chart 2.1. 4: % of Total Students Enrolled by Proprietor

The aggregated total enrolment highlighted in the preceding paragraphs conceals

important gender details revealed in the table below.

Table 2.1. 15: Enrolment by Sex and Proprietor

National

GOSL Private Community Mission Other All


167,148 151,806 46,473 48,390 85,538 75,879 521,662 466,058 10,409 11,223 831,230 753,356

% Female 48% 51% 47% 47% 52% 48%

G/B Ratio 0.91 1.04 0.89 0.89 1.08 0.91

Encouragingly, the table above shows that no category of proprietor has a female

enrolment that is below 47% of its total enrolment. Even better, schools run by

‘private’ and ‘other’ proprietors have more girls than boys enrolled. This is a fairer

reflection of the ratio of girls to boys of the official schooling age range (3 to 17

years) in the population.

The ‘national’ picture has been presented in the last few paragraphs. The aggregated

regional picture is presented in the paragraphs that follow.

Table 2.1. 16: Total Enrolment by Region and Proprietor

Region GOSL Private Community Mission Other

East 54,124 13,935 33,323 240,796 1,760

North 120,621 6,301 68,703 324,915 6,443

South 77,271 12,227 25,809 248,009 6,351

West 66,938 62,400 33,583 174,001 7,078

National 318,954 94,863 161,417 987,720 21,632

The above table shows that ‘mission’ schools account for the greatest number of

students enrolled in each region. It also shows schools belonging to the different

categories of proprietors in the Northern Region to have more students enrolled

than their counterparts in all other regions except the Western Area which has more

private and ‘other’ students. The chart below shows the situation more clearly.

20%

6% 10%

62%

1% 0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

GOSL Private Community Mission Other

35 Making Progress

Chart 2.1. 5: Distribution of Total Student Enrolment by Region and category of Proprietor

The above table and chart both show that students attending private schools are

much greater in the Western Area than in the other regions. The sum of students

attending private schools in the Eastern, Northern and Southern Regions is much

less than the number of students attending private school in the Western Area.

Whilst the total number of students attending school in the Northern Region is

approximately one and a half times those attending in the Western Area, the number

of private school students in the latter is approximately ten times that in the former.

Since, private schools are fee paying and many are quite expensive in relative terms,

there is a suggestion that those most able and willing to pay for the education of

their children are to be found largely in the Western Area. Given that the census data

indicates almost all the private schools to be town based, it appears that such

schools are largely urban entities. The latter is probably a consequence of the fact

that parents with the ability and willingness to pay high fees are more numerous in

urban areas. As urban settlements grow and average income increase, there is a high

probability that private schools and students will increase in number.

The dominance of ‘mission’ schools in terms of total enrolment does not hold for

enrolment disaggregated in terms of the different school levels as the table below

shows.

Table 2.1. 17: Enrolment by School Level and Proprietor

Level GOSL Private Community Mission Other

Pre-Primary 3,161 15,318 4,222 14,161 489

Primary 271,160 41,486 118,249 751,117 12,491

JSS 29,162 13,747 33,620 162,765 5,194

SSS 15,471 24,312 5,327 59,676 3,458

The November 2010/11 school census data shows private schools to have the

greatest number of students at the pre-primary level even though mission schools

have more students at the other levels. For each category of proprietor there is a

noticeable difference in enrolment between the primary and JSS levels even though

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000


GOSL

Private

Community

Mission

Other

36 Making Progress

the two are supposed to constitute formal ‘basic education’. With plans to expand

‘basic education’ to include pre-primary education, as proposed in the recent White

Paper on education, the disparities in enrolment between the levels will need to

receive more attention if the term ‘basic education’ is to be more than a catch-

phrase.

The regional picture of enrolment at the different school levels by proprietor is

shown in the charts below.

Chart 2.1. 6: Pre-Primary Enrolment by Region and Proprietor

Chart 2.1. 7: Primary Enrolment by Region and Proprietor

Chart 2.1. 8: Junior Secondary Enrolment by Region and Proprietor

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000


East

North

South

West

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000


East

North

South

West

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000


East

North

South

West

37 Making Progress

Chart 2.1. 9: Senior Secondary Enrolment by Region and Proprietor

The charts above all show that more students are enrolled in ‘mission’ schools than

in schools by other proprietors at all levels except the pre-primary. They also show

that in relative terms, enrolment in private schools is greatest at the pre-primary

and senior secondary levels. Regionally, whilst the Northern Region has the greatest

enrolment at the primary level, the Western Area has many more students enrolled

at the pre-primary and senior secondary levels and just a few more enrolled at the

junior secondary level. The lower enrolment at the junior and senior secondary

levels in the Northern Region is of concern given that its enrolment at the primary

level is so much greater than that of the Western Area.

The tables from which the above charts were produced can be seen in Annex 4

2.1.8 Female Enrolment in Schools belonging to Different Proprietors / Owners

The percentage female enrolment in schools owned by the different categories of

proprietors at the various school levels is as shown in the table below.

Table 2.1. 18: % Female Enrolment by School Level and Proprietor

Region GOSL Private Community Mission Other All

Pre-Primary 52% 52% 49% 51% 49% 51%

Primary 48% 51% 48% 49% 52% 49%

JSS 45% 55% 42% 45% 51% 45%

SSS 36% 48% 49% 32% 53% 38%

The above table shows private schools to have a greater percentage of females

enrolled than schools belonging to other categories of proprietors. It also shows a

significant difference between the percentage of females enrolled at the JSS and the

SSS level in schools belonging to the GOSL and the missions. This disparity is not

noted in schools belonging to other categories of proprietors. There is some

indication that the difference between the groups of proprietors may be caused by

some belonging to the latter group paying less attention to the GOSL stipulated

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000


East

North

South

West

38 Making Progress

requirement for entry to SSS but there is a need for further investigation into the

matter.

In schools belonging to the Government of Sierra Leone (GOSL) and ‘mission, the

percentage of female students enrolled decreases as the educational ladder is

ascended. In the case of private schools there is an unexpected increase in the

percentage of girls enrolled at the JSS level that could be reflection of the criteria for

entry operated by the schools. Community schools have the lowest percentage of

girls enrolled at the JSS level but at the SSS level the percentage of girls enrolled is

higher than expected. The female enrolment picture of schools belonging to ‘other’

proprietors is different from that of the other categories of proprietors – The

differences between the percentage female enrolment at the different school levels

are small but it is noticeably that schools belonging to this category of proprietors

have the highest percentage female enrolment at the SSS level.

The table analysed above contains national totals, detailed school level enrolment by

gender, proprietor and region tables can be found in Annex 5.

39 Making Progress

2.2 Local Councils

2.2.1 Enrolment Totals

The national and regional enrolment numbers are useful but do not provide details

needed by Local Councils, the entity vested with responsibility for basic education.

The chart below shows the total school level enrolment (pre-primary to senior

secondary) for each Local Council.

Chart 2.2. 1: Total School Level Enrolment by Local Council

The chart above shows that over a quarter of a million students attend schools in

Freetown. This is more than double the enrolment in the local council area with the

next highest number of students. It is worth noting that apart from Freetown, the

city councils do not cater for the greatest number of students in their region or even

the more rural part of the districts to which they belong. The numbers in the chart

above refer to the aggregated total enrolments for all school levels combined.

Presented below is a table of enrolment at the different levels by Local Council. A

more complete table is in Annex 6.

Table 2.2. 1: Enrolment by Local Council and School Level Council Pre Prim JSS SSS

Kailahun District 1,195 60,022 11,571 3,412

Kenema City 2,422 49,656 13,690 7,938

Kenema District 393 79,618 7,796 555

Koidu - New Sembehun City 1,111 21,168 11,965 4,755

Kono District 1,498 59,357 5,111 704

Bombali District 220 74,866 11,356 743

Kambia District 972 77,129 12,916 4,559

Koinadugu District 806 65,260 7,548 2,162

Makeni City 971 13,934 10,686 7,863

Port Loko District 1,737 106,736 14,193 3,830

Tonkolili District 1,117 85,223 17,272 4,884

Bo City 2,034 43,681 18,906 13,007

Bo District 664 81,400 7,969 3,527

Bonthe District 1,552 35,246 5,542 1,790

Bonthe Municipal 109 1,564 955 274

76,200 73,706 88,362

38,999

66,670 87,185 95,576

75,776

33,454

126,496 108,496

77,628 93,560

44,130

2,902

94,212

57,235

266,373

77,626

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

40 Making Progress

Council Pre Prim JSS SSS

Moyamba District 814 83,190 7,918 2,290

Pujehun District 834 50,700 4,902 799

Freetown City 14,304 150,855 59,418 41,796

Western Rural District 4,598 54,898 14,775 3,355

National 37,351 1,194,503 244,489 108,243

The table above shows the marked difference in enrolment at the primary level and

enrolment at the pre-primary and junior secondary levels respectively. The

difference between enrolment at the primary and enrolment at the junior secondary

level in each local council area is such that there is cause for doubt that many

complete 9 years of basic education i.e. 6 years of primary and 3 years of junior

secondary education. The magnitude of the difference between enrolment at the

primary and junior secondary levels is shown in the chart below.

Chart 2.2. 2: % Difference between Enrolment at the Junior Secondary and Primary Levels by Local Council

Apart from the large differences in primary and junior secondary enrolment, the

table and chart above also suggest, using Kenema City and Kenema District, Bombali

District and Makeni City, Bo City and Bo District as references, that the chances of an

individual accessing junior secondary education is greater in an urban than in a

rural area.

Male and female enrolment at the various levels in the different local council areas is


Table 2.2. 2: Enrolment by Local Council, Level and Sex

Council Pre-Primary Primary Junior Secondary Senior Secondary

Male Fem G/B Male Fem G/B Male Fem G/B Male Fem G/B

Kailahun District 569 626 1.10 29,476 30,546 1.04 6,596 4,975 0.75 2,524 888 0.35

Kenema City 1,107 1,315 1.19 24,174 25,482 1.05 6,882 6,808 0.99 5,319 2,619 0.49

Kenema District 176 217 1.23 40,648 38,970 0.96 5,117 2,679 0.52 346 209 0.60 Koidu - New Sembehun City 600 511 0.85 10,870 10,298 0.95 6,479 5,486 0.85 3,077 1,678 0.55

Kono District 787 711 0.90 30,311 29,046 0.96 3,002 2,109 0.70 575 129 0.22

Bombali District 69 151 2.19 41,215 33,651 0.82 6,733 4,623 0.69 558 185 0.33

-419% -263%

-921%

-77%

-1061%

-559% -497%

-765%

-30%

-652%

-393%

-131%

-921%

-536%

-64%

-951% -934%

-154% -272%

-1200%

-1000%

-800%

-600%

-400%

-200%

0%

41 Making Progress


Male Fem G/B Male Fem G/B Male Fem G/B Male Fem G/B

Kambia District 512 460 0.90 41,409 35,720 0.86 7,957 4,959 0.62 3,467 1,092 0.31 Koinadugu District 392 414 1.06 33,006 32,254 0.98 4,081 3,467 0.85 1,442 720 0.50

Makeni City 497 474 0.95 7,362 6,572 0.89 6,396 4,290 0.67 5,243 2,620 0.50 Port Loko District 828 909 1.10 54,610 52,126 0.95 8,103 6,090 0.75 2,646 1,184 0.45

Tonkolili District 471 646 1.37 44,979 40,244 0.89 9,494 7,778 0.82 3,116 1,768 0.57

Bo City 1,002 1,032 1.03 20,318 23,363 1.15 9,963 8,943 0.90 8,920 4,087 0.46

Bo District 375 289 0.77 42,561 38,839 0.91 4,744 3,225 0.68 1,537 1,990 1.29

Bonthe District 837 715 0.85 18,050 17,196 0.95 3,242 2,300 0.71 1,300 490 0.38 Bonthe Municipal 55 54 0.98 773 791 1.02 430 525 1.22 190 84 0.44 Moyamba District 430 384 0.89 43,117 40,073 0.93 4,884 3,034 0.62 1,291 999 0.77

Pujehun District 345 489 1.42 26,167 24,533 0.94 2,646 2,256 0.85 566 233 0.41

Freetown City 6,963 7,341 1.05 74,639 76,216 1.02 29,666 29,752 1.00 23,044 18,752 0.81 Western Rural District 2,232 2,366 1.06 27,919 26,979 0.97 7,681 7,094 0.92 2,122 1,233 0.58

The overall low enrolment at the pre-primary level is a reflection of the demand for

and availability of pre-primary institutions. It is worth noting that local councils that

are primarily urban based e.g. Freetown, Kenema City, Bo City, have greater pre-

primary level enrolments. The latter is due to the fact that more individuals in urban

areas attach value and importance to pre-primary schooling and are able to pay for

it.

The table above shows that as the educational ladder is ascended fewer local

councils have G/B ratios that are near to or greater than 1. For example, at the pre-

primary level the majority of local councils (11 out of 19) have more girls than boys

enrolled whilst at the primary level just 5 local councils have more girls than boys

enrolled even though the lowest G/B ratio is 0.89. The low SSS G/B ratios, relative to

the primary and JSS ratios, are worrying as they indicate that relatively few women

are completing the schooling cycle and moving on to post-secondary schooling. The

odd SSS G/B ratio for Bo District is due to the large number of girls reportedly

enrolled in the single sex girls’ schools in the district. A further check is being made

on this whilst this report is being drafted.

2.2.2 Grade Enrolments

The level totals are inadequate to indicate within level distribution of enrolment.

The grade totals provide the needed information. Given below are the grade totals

for the different school levels.

Table 2.2. 3: Local Council Pre-Primary and Primary Enrolment by Grade

Council N1 N2 N3 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6

Kailahun District 715 312 174 13,888 12,194 11,145 9,820 7,828 5,147

Kenema City 967 858 594 7,681 9,749 8,966 8,803 7,926 6,531

Kenema District 209 101 84 18,567 17,839 15,406 12,579 8,961 6,266

42 Making Progress

Council N1 N2 N3 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6

Koidu - New Sembehun City 575 369 171 3,137 4,207 3,702 3,986 3,315 2,821

Kono District 714 460 325 13,641 13,601 11,196 9,356 6,807 4,757

Bombali District 123 77 21 18,281 15,537 12,686 10,173 9,662 8,527

Kambia District 535 309 133 15,938 15,999 14,982 13,521 10,746 5,942

Koinadugu District 463 266 81 13,902 14,622 12,842 10,629 8,184 5,081

Makeni City 469 328 175 2,607 2,660 2,552 2,305 1,955 1,855

Port Loko District 838 522 379 21,237 23,391 20,680 17,004 13,737 10,687

Tonkolili District 640 270 211 19,161 17,507 15,597 13,441 10,946 8,571

Bo City 917 686 432 7,032 7,800 6,517 7,446 6,068 8,818

Bo District 245 267 151 22,140 17,962 14,931 12,034 9,445 4,888

Bonthe District 750 481 322 9,113 7,595 6,105 5,325 4,491 2,616

Bonthe Municipal 58 33 19 392 282 267 249 231 143

Moyamba District 445 237 134 22,234 18,994 14,531 11,775 9,457 6,199

Pujehun District 367 320 148 11,788 12,362 10,330 7,776 5,663 2,781

Freetown City 5,840 4,461 3,975 22,561 28,469 27,305 26,330 24,398 21,792

Western Rural District 1,965 1,549 1,082 9,890 10,126 10,655 9,849 7,949 6,429

National 16,838 11,904 8,609 253,191 250,896 220,393 192,400 157,769 119,853

At the pre-primary level, grade enrolment decreases with increasing grade in each

local council area but at the primary level, in 10 out of 19 local council areas

enrolment increases on moving from Primary 1 to 2. After Primary 2, enrolment

decreases with increasing grade for all local council areas except Bo City and Koidu-

New Sembehun City. The reason for the up and down grade enrolments of Bo City is

unknown and is to be investigated. Possible reasons for the increase in enrolment

between Primary 1 and 2 are many and need to be investigated. Two things that

must receive attention in the investigation are the impact of grade repetition and a

decrease in enrolment (intake) into Primary 1.

At the junior and senior secondary levels, grade enrolment trends are similar to

those at the pre-primary and primary levels as the table below shows.

Table 2.2. 4: Local Council Junior and Senior Secondary Enrolment by Grade

Council JSS1 JSS2 JSS3 SS1 SS2 SS3

Kailahun District 4,745 3,981 2,844 1,214 1,243 955

Kenema City 4,790 4,700 4,200 2,444 2,786 2,708

Kenema District 3,168 2,734 1,894 192 214 149

Koidu - New Sembehun City 4,213 4,453 3,299 1,765 1,723 1,266

Kono District 2,054 2,073 984 367 168 169

Bombali District 5,041 3,926 2,389 265 275 203

Kambia District 5,361 4,695 2,860 1,415 1,940 1,204

Koinadugu District 2,988 2,644 1,916 805 787 570

Makeni City 3,804 3,843 3,040 2,787 2,674 2,402

Port Loko District 6,008 4,821 3,364 1,383 1,384 1,063

Tonkolili District 6,732 5,889 4,651 1,512 1,944 1,428

Bo City 7,348 6,467 5,090 4,566 4,676 3,765

43 Making Progress

Council JSS1 JSS2 JSS3 SS1 SS2 SS3

Bo District 3,815 2,667 1,487 1,332 1,049 1,146

Bonthe District 2,315 2,010 1,217 845 566 379

Bonthe Municipal 384 321 250 109 106 59

Moyamba District 3,285 2,802 1,831 832 892 567

Pujehun District 2,092 1,632 1,178 381 274 144

Freetown City 19,586 20,816 19,015 13,773 15,364 12,659

Western Rural District 5,533 4,792 4,450 1,010 1,575 770

National 93,264 85,267 65,959 36,997 39,639 31,607

At the junior secondary level enrolment decreases with increasing grade in 15 out

19 local council areas. One local council area that shows a significant increase in

junior secondary enrolment in moving from JSS1 to JSS2 is Freetown. The reason for

the latter needs to be investigated but the main cause is suspected to be a

combination of JSS2 repetition and a smaller intake into JSS1 than in the preceding

year. A contributory factor is new admission into JSS2 from outside as happens for

SSS2.

At the senior secondary level, enrolment increases in moving from SSS1 to SSS2 in

10 out of 19 local council areas with 1 area staying virtually unchanged. Between

SSS2 and SSS3 enrolment drops in every local council area except Bo District. The

reasons for the increase in enrolment between SSS1 and SSS2 are to be investigated

but as indicated in preceding paragraphs, it is probable that a combination of grade

repetition, lower intake to SSS1 and new admissions into SSS2 from outside a school

are contributory factors.

Given that overall, enrolment decreases as grade level increases and that the

transition rate between one level and the next is not 100%, enrolment in the final

grade of senior secondary schooling (i.e. SSS3) is expected to be less than enrolment

in the first grade of primary (i.e. P1). Enrolment in the last grade of senior secondary

(i.e. SS3) as a percentage of enrolment in the first grade of primary (i.e. P1) provides

an indication of the magnitude of the difference between enrolments in the two

grades. A table of SSS3/P1 as a percentage is shown below.

Table 2.2. 5: Enrolment in SSS3 as a Percentage of Enrolment in P1

Council (SS3/P1)%

Kailahun District 7%

Kenema City 35%

Kenema District 1%

Koidu - New Sembehun City 40%

Kono District 1%

Bombali District 1%

Kambia District 8%

Koinadugu District 4%

Makeni City 92%

Port Loko District 5%

Tonkolili District 7%

Bo City 54%

Bo District 5%

44 Making Progress

Council (SS3/P1)%

Bonthe District 4%

Bonthe Municipal 15%

Moyamba District 3%

Pujehun District 1%

Freetown City 56%

Western Rural District 8%

National 12%

The disparities in the values in the table above are striking. All the local council

areas with large urban settlements have much higher percentage values than those

surrounding that are more rural. Note for example Koidu – New Sembehun City

(40%) and Kono District (1%), Makeni City (92%) and Bombali District (1%), Bo

City (54%) and Bo District (5%) Kenema City (35%) and Kenema District (1%) and

Freetown (56%) and Western Rural District (8%). The difference in values appears

related to the ease with which senior secondary education can be accessed. However

it is unlikely that the latter alone accounts for the magnitude of the differences.

Differences in retention rates are also likely to play a role.

Enrolment in the last grade of senior secondary (i.e. SS3) as a percentage of

enrolment in the first grade of the level (i.e. SS1) provides an indication of the extent

to which enrolment is growing at the level as well as some inkling on the extent of

grade repetition. A table of the SS3/SS1 values expressed as a percentage is shown

in the chart below.

Chart 2.2. 3: Enrolment in SSS3 as a Percentage of Enrolment in SSS1

The chart above indicates that in 18 of the 19 local council areas, enrolment in SSS3

is less than enrolment in SSS1. This is expected because of the extent of grade

repetition and dropping-out. The high value (above 100%) for Kenema City is

unexpected and requires investigation. There is a suspicion that a high SSS3

enrolment is caused by students repeating the examination and therefore the class,

as well as the risky admission of others from outside a school into the SS3 of that

school so that they can re-sit the WASSCE.

79%

111%

78% 72%

46%

77% 85%

71% 86%

77% 94%

82% 86%

45% 54%

68%

38%

92% 76%

85%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

45 Making Progress

2.2.3 Female Enrolment

Gender enrolments by grade largely follow the pattern discussed in the preceding

section i.e. at the pre-primary level, more girls than boys are enrolled in the different

grades in the majority of local council areas. At the primary, junior secondary and

senior secondary levels, the opposite is the case i.e. more boys than girls are enrolled

in the different grades in the majority of the local council areas.

Enrolment of both sexes decreases with increasing grade level in the majority of the

local council areas. Exceptions are found at the primary and senior secondary levels

in moving from the first grade in both to the respective second grades. Possible

reasons for these observations have been presented earlier. The tables on which

these observations are based can be found in Annex 10. The female to male ratios

(G/B) for the different grades can be found in Annex 11.

The G/B ratios for the different levels and local council areas are given in the table

below.

Table 2.2. 6: Female to Male (G/B) Ratios by Local Council and Level

Council Pre-Primary Primary JSS SSS

Kailahun District Council 1.10 1.04 0.75 0.35

Kenema City Council 1.19 1.05 0.99 0.49

Kenema District Council 1.23 0.96 0.52 0.60

Koidu - New Sembehun City Council 0.85 0.95 0.85 0.55

Kono District Council 0.90 0.96 0.70 0.22

Bombali District Council 2.18 0.82 0.69 0.33

Kambia District Council 0.90 0.86 0.62 0.31

Koinadugu District Council 1.06 0.98 0.85 0.50

Makeni City Council 0.95 0.89 0.67 0.50

Port Loko District Council 1.10 0.95 0.75 0.45

Tonkolili District Council 1.37 0.89 0.82 0.57

Bo City Council 1.03 1.15 0.90 0.46

Bo District Council 0.77 0.91 0.68 1.29

Bonthe District Council 0.85 0.95 0.71 0.38

Bonthe Municipal Council 0.98 1.02 1.22 0.44

Moyamba District Council 0.89 0.93 0.62 0.77

Pujehun District Council 1.42 0.94 0.85 0.41

Freetown City Council 1.05 1.02 1.00 0.81

Western Rural District Council 1.06 0.97 0.92 0.58

National 1.05 0.95 0.82 0.61

The table indicates that a significant amount of work will have to be done in many

local council areas in order to attain gender parity at the post-primary level.

Brief comments have been made on the G/B ratio in an earlier paragraph – these are

additional observations. The G/B ratio decreases as the educational ladder is

ascended from one level to another in the majority of the local council areas. There

are however a few exceptions that are being investigated e.g. the increase in G/B

ratio in moving from the primary to the junior secondary level in the Bonthe

Municipal Council area; the increase in moving from the junior secondary to the

46 Making Progress

senior secondary level in the Bo District Council, Kenema District Council and

Moyamba District Council areas.

2.2.4 Enrolment by Proprietorship / Ownership

The providers of schooling do not cater for the same number of students neither do

they evenly distribute their provisions as the table below shows.

Table 2.2. 7: Total School Level Enrolment by Proprietor and Local Council

Council GOSL Private Community Mission Other All

Kailahun District Council 16,494 226 3,571 55,086 823 76,200

Kenema City Council 7,419 5,468 2,862 57,248 709 73,706

Kenema District Council 15,769 247 7,962 64,380 3 88,362

Koidu - New Sembehun City Council 1,936 6,705 7,111 23,114 133 38,999

Kono District Council 12,505 1,289 11,817 40,968 92 66,670

Bombali District Council 15,521 862 20,097 50,101 604 87,185

Kambia District Council 27,565 420 13,278 54,313 0 95,576

Koinadugu District Council 18,529 587 12,719 43,610 331 75,776

Makeni City Council 1,200 1,635 515 27,106 2,997 33,454

Port Loko District Council 34,262 2,494 10,039 78,937 764 126,496

Tonkolili District Council 23,544 302 12,054 70,849 1,747 108,496

Bo City Council 9,237 6,680 1,822 59,435 454 77,628

Bo District Council 24,292 1,686 6,462 59,388 1,732 93,560

Bonthe District Council 10,309 416 3,678 29,266 460 44,130

Bonthe Municipal Council 184 0 297 2,421 0 2,902

Moyamba District Council 19,089 3,321 9,189 58,908 3,705 94,212

Pujehun District Council 14,161 124 4,360 38,590 0 57,235

Freetown City Council 50,410 52,504 23,358 133,872 6,229 266,373

Western Rural District Council 16,528 9,896 10,225 40,129 849 77,626

National 318,954 94,863 161,417 987,720 21,632 1,584,586

The table shows that for each local council, mission schools have the greatest

number of students enrolled. It also shows that enrolment in private and ‘other’

schools is small or non-existent in some local council areas. It is worth noting that

enrolment in private schools is greatest in the more urban local council areas whilst

enrolment in community schools is greatest in the more rural part of a district when

that district houses more than one local council – e.g. Kenema City and Kenema

District, Koidu – New Sembehun City and Kono District, Bo City and Bo District.

The relative impact of the different groups of proprietors on schooling in a district

can be partly deduced from the percentage of enrolled students for which each is

responsible as shown in the table below.

Table 2.2. 8: % of Total Enrolled Students for Each Local Council Area by Proprietor

Council GOSL Private Community Mission Other

Kailahun District Council 22% 0% 5% 72% 1%

Kenema City Council 10% 7% 4% 78% 1%

Kenema District Council 18% 0% 9% 73% 0%

Koidu - New Sembehun City Council 5% 17% 18% 59% 0%

Kono District Council 19% 2% 18% 61% 0%

Bombali District Council 18% 1% 23% 57% 1%

47 Making Progress


Kambia District Council 29% 0% 14% 57% 0%

Koinadugu District Council 24% 1% 17% 58% 0%

Makeni City Council 4% 5% 2% 81% 9%

Port Loko District Council 27% 2% 8% 62% 1%

Tonkolili District Council 22% 0% 11% 65% 2%

Bo City Council 12% 9% 2% 77% 1%

Bo District Council 26% 2% 7% 63% 2%

Bonthe District Council 23% 1% 8% 66% 1%

Bonthe Municipal Council 6% 0% 10% 83% 0%

Moyamba District Council 20% 4% 10% 63% 4%

Pujehun District Council 25% 0% 8% 67% 0%

Freetown City Council 19% 20% 9% 50% 2%

Western Rural District Council 21% 13% 13% 52% 1%

National 20% 6% 10% 62% 1%

The above table confirms that most students in each local council area attend

mission schools and relatively few attend private and ‘other’ schools. It also

confirms that private schools cater primarily for those in urban areas – note that the

highest percentage of those enrolled in private schools are to be found in Kenema

City, Koidu – New Sembehun City, Makeni City, Bo City, Freetown and Western Rural

which has large urban settlements.

The percentage of students attending GOSL schools only ranges between 4% and

29% but it should be noted that almost all mission schools are government-assisted

i.e. depend on funds/support from the GOSL for their survival. The foregoing means

that most ‘mission’ schools are mission in name only.

When enrolment is disaggregated to give male and female totals, the result is as

shown in the table in Annex 7. The table indicates that for most proprietors in most

local council areas, more boys are enrolled than girls. One exception is for private

schools which have more girls than boys enrolled in 12 out of the 19 local council

areas.

When enrolment is disaggregated by school level, it becomes apparent that

enrolment in mission schools is greater than in schools belonging to other

proprietors in almost every local council area and at all levels except the pre-

primary. The charts below show the situation at every school level. The tables from

which the charts are prepared can be found in Annex 8.

Readers are reminded that, as stated earlier, some schools operate grades above or

different from those they are approved to offer. Some even operate grades above or

different from those indicated by their names e.g. X Junior Secondary with students

enrolled at Grades 13, 14 and 15 (SS1, SS2 and SS3) and Y Primary with students

enrolled at Grades 10, 11 and 12 (JS1, JS2 and JS3). This means that some cases will

be observed in which a local council area has seemingly no school at a specific level

for a particular proprietor but an enrolment is recorded at that level for that

proprietor. This is particularly noticeable when comparing the senior secondary

48 Making Progress

tables in Annexes 3 and 8. That schools can add grades without any reference to or

approval of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology is worrying and

suggests that the latter’s control of schooling is at best minimal.

Chart 2.2. 4: Pre-Primary Enrolment by Local Council and Proprietor

Chart 2.2. 5: Primary Enrolment by Local Council and Proprietor

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

GOSL Private

Community Mission

Other

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

90,000 GOSL Private

Community Mission

Other

49 Making Progress

Chart 2.2. 6: Junior Secondary Enrolment by Local Council and Proprietor

Chart 2.2. 7: Senior Secondary Enrolment by Local Council and Proprietor

The charts above not only show the dominance of ‘missions’ in terms of enrolment

at all levels except pre-primary, but also further confirm that enrolment in schools in

Freetown is much greater than in the other local council areas.

The female: male enrolment patterns for the different categories of proprietors and

levels of schooling are much as expected i.e. except at the pre-primary level, male

enrolment tends to exceed that of females. The relevant tables can be found in Annex

9. The tables for the junior and senior secondary levels are interesting as they show

GOSL provisions to be non-existent in a number of local council areas as the zero

enrolments align with a zero number of schools.

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

GOSL Private

Community Mission

Other

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

GOSL

Private

Community

Mission

Other

50 Making Progress

2.3 Other Enrolment Issues

2.3.1 Special Needs / Differently Able

In most developing countries Special Needs children are disadvantaged from birth.

Sierra Leone is no exception. Many special needs children are unwanted and

unwelcomed. The special needs schools that exist are few but some, including the

most prominent and vocal of the special needs individuals, insist on inclusive rather

than separate education. Unfortunately schools are not built with the special needs

in mind and teachers trained to handle special needs students in a ‘normal’ school

environment are very rare. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the enrolment of

students with special needs in ‘normal schools’ is increasing. In the November 2010

school census, information was collected on the number of students with the specific

special needs indicated below in primary schools. There is cause to believe that

there was a small amount of under-reporting of special needs students simply

because schools were not required to report on all with visual and/or hearing

problems. It is certain that many students are having severe problems even though

they are not completely deaf or blind. On a different note, the detection of mental

retardation by those not trained to carry out such a task must have been very

difficult and mistakes may have been made. All of the foregoing suggest that there is

need for a more thorough study to be carried out. In the meanwhile, the data yielded

by the census is analysed in the paragraphs that follow.

Given below are tables and charts on the special needs students at the primary level

captured by the census. The percentage of special needs children at the primary

level are very small accounting for less than 1% of total national enrolment. Only for

the Koidu-New Sembehun City and Makeni City local council areas were special

needs enrolment greater than 2% reported.

Table 2.3. 1: % of Enrolled Primary School Students with Special Needs by Sex

Blind Deaf/ Dumb Mental

Retardation Others Polio All

Male Fem Male Fem Male Fem Male Fem Male Fem Male Fem Both

0.1% 0.1% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.9% 0.7% 0.8%

As mentioned above, it is probable that students suffering from visual and/or

hearing problems were under-reported because schools were only required to

report on blind and deaf/dumb students. Notwithstanding, it is likely that there are

more special needs boys than girls enrolled at the primary level.

51 Making Progress

Chart 2.3. 1: % of Enrolled Primary School Students with Special Needs by Local Council

The chart above shows the percentage of enrolled primary school students in local

council areas with special needs to be relatively small. As stated earlier, accidental

under-reporting is likely and this means that the percentage of students with special

needs is probably higher.

The detailed tables from which the summary table and chart above were derived can

be found in Annex 12.

2.3.2 Average School Size

Schools differ significantly in size, i.e. enrolment. Information on average school size

provides some idea of the demand for schooling relative to the existing provisions.

The table below gives the national and local council areas average school sizes for

different levels of schooling. The tables from which the table and chart that follows

were prepared can be found in Annex 13.

Table 2.3. 2: Average School Sizes by School Level

Local Council Pre-Primary Primary JSS SSS

















0.0%

0.5%

1.0%

1.5%

2.0%

2.5%

3.0%

3.5%

52 Making Progress

Local Council Pre-Primary Primary JSS SSS




National 58 201 275 520

The table above suggests that schools in Sierra Leone are quite small in size below

the senior secondary level. The average size of pre-primary schools in particular

suggests that existing provisions are sufficient to meet demand. The fact that

average pre-primary school size is small does not mean that efforts should be made

to increase school size significantly because proper pre-primary schooling will not

work with large numbers in a class, especially given the fact that few pre-primary

teachers are trained. The large average pre-primary school size for Pujehun District

is a consequence of the small number of pre-primary institutions. The average

senior secondary school size of 520 is largely a consequence of the relatively small

number of schools. There is a school of thought that even this number of senior

secondary schools (208) is large given the dearth of teachers able to teach at the

level. The census data provides some support for the latter as it has revealed that

many teaching at the senior secondary level are only trained and qualified to teach

at the primary and junior secondary levels.

In addition to the aforementioned, the table shows an increase in average school size

as the school level ladder is ascended. There is a large jump in school size in moving

from the pre-primary to the primary level and another large jump in moving from

the junior to the senior secondary level. The jump between the pre-primary and

primary levels is largely explained by the fact that pre-primary school attendance is

not a prerequisite for primary school enrolment which has been the focus of efforts

by the GOSL and partners for a number of years. It should also be noted that

presently pre-primary schooling is largely in the hands of private providers who

avoid areas where parents are unlikely to be able to meet their charges.

The chart below shows more clearly the average school size situation.

Chart 2.3. 2: Average Class Size by Local Council and School Level

0 200 400 600 800

1000 1200 1400

Pre-Primary Primary

JSS SSS

53 Making Progress

2.3.3 Age Related Analysis

An important goal of the education in Sierra Leone is the achievement of universal

access and completion of basic education. In order to track progress towards the

achievement of that goal, it is necessary to know the extent to which children of

school age are accessing school. This would require information on the ages of those

attending school as well as information on the number of children of the school age

of interest in the population. Getting accurate information on the ages of students is

fraught with challenges. In some cases births are not registered, in other cases the

student is living with relatives who have no idea of when he/she was born, in yet

more cases the head of school makes only token effort to obtain accurate date of

birth information, etc. Many head-teachers readily admit that they estimate the ages

of many new entrants to primary school using a routine involving the student

passing his/her hand over his/her head and touching the opposite ear. The

consequence of the foregoing is that school records on the ages of students contain

inaccuracies. The inaccuracies reveal themselves when age related analysis on

census and/or survey data is carried out. The 2010 November school census data

has been found to contain some age inaccuracies even after an extensive post

validation process. It should be noted that the age inaccuracies do not render the age

data totally unusable but much care should be taken on how and what it is used for.

Given the limitations stated above, analysis of the age related data from the census

has been kept to the minimum in this report.

Below are the post validation age profile charts for the primary, junior secondary

and senior secondary levels.

Chart 2.3. 3: Age profile of Primary School Students

Official Age Range of Primary Level = 6 to 11+ years

0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000

100,000 120,000 140,000 160,000 180,000 200,000

Less than 5 years

5 years 6 years 7 years 8 years 9 years 10 years

11 years

12 years

13 years

14 years

15 years

More than 15

years

Boys

Girls

Both

54 Making Progress

Chart 2.3. 4: Age profile of Junior Secondary School Students

Official Age Range of Junior Secondary Level = 12 to 14 years

Chart 2.3. 5: Age Profile of Senior Secondary School Students

Official Age Range of Senior Secondary Level = 15 to 17 years

The charts above show some interesting trends. As the education ladder is ascended,

i.e. from primary to junior secondary to senior secondary, the enrolment gap

between males and females at each age point increases. The enrolment peak also

increases as the education ladder is ascended as expected but interestingly it moves

from being within to being outside the official age range for the level. Focusing on

just the differences between the numbers of male and female students enrolled at

each level conceals the fact that in terms of the percentage of the total enrolled at

each level there is no differences between the sexes as shown in Annex 14.

The charts above indicate the tremendous number of students outside the official

age range for each level. It is worth noting that the percentage of students who are

outside the official age range increase with increasing level of education. The

students below 6 years of age found in primary schools are largely the consequence

of a practice that has been ongoing for a few years in rural and deprived areas in

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

Below 10

years

10 years

11 years

12 years

13 years

14 years

15 years

16 years

17 years

18 years

19 years

20 years and

above

Boys Girls Both

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

Below 15

years

15 years

16 years

17 years

18 years

19 years

20 years

21 years

22 years

23 years

24 years

25 years and

above

Boys

Girls

Both

55 Making Progress

which an older sibling attending primary school takes along younger brothers

and/or sisters because there is no one at home to look after them.

Given that many students start schooling late in Sierra Leone and also the fact that

many repeat whilst others leave and then return when they are able to meet the cost

of schooling, the fact that many students are outside the official age for a level is not

a surprise. The fact that those well above the official age for a level still attend school

in large numbers is in fact very encouraging and bodes well for the development of

the society.

2.3.4 Gross Intake, Gross Enrolment Rate, Completion Rate and Gender Parity Index

Notwithstanding some suspected age inaccuracies, it should be noted that age-free

enrolment totals are reliable and can be used for all analysis including the

computing of gross rates such as those presented below.

Gross Intake Rate (GIR)

Gross Intake Ratios (GIRs) provide an indication of the rate of entry of all new

students into a grade, usually the first grade. The value is arrived at relative to those

of the official age for the grade in a particular year. In short it provides a measure of

new entrants to a grade irrespective of age. If the GIR value is below 100% it means

that fewer students are entering than would have to be absorbed if all of official age

had been admitted. If the GIR is above 100%, it means that more students are being

absorbed than would have to be the case if only students of the official age were

being admitted. A GIR above 100% also indicates that students outside the official

age of entry are being admitted. In the case of Sierra Leone it means that many

above and some below the official age are being admitted into Class 1. At the junior

and senior secondary levels, those admitted to JSS 1 and SSS 1 respectively are fewer

than would have to be accommodated if all 12 and 15 year olds had qualified for

entry. The accepted/formal definition of Gross Intake Rate is given in Annex 1. It is

calculated by dividing new entrants into the grade, irrespective of age, by the official

entry age population. The single age populations were calculated using the Statistics

Sierra Leone projections and a structure from the team working on the analysis for

the ongoing Country Status Report (CSR) on Education. The GIR values for the

different levels are presented in the table below.

Table 2.3. 3: Gross Intake Rate for Class 1 Primary

Class 1 New Entrants Male Female Both

113,114 104,541 217,655

6 Year Old Population (SSL + CSR Projection) 89,718 90,843 180,562

GIR 126% 115% 121%

56 Making Progress

Table 2.3. 4: Gross Intake Rate for JSS 1

JSS 1 New Entrants Male Female Both

44,329 36,808 81,137


GIR 65% 53% 59%

Table 2.3. 5: Gross Intake Rate for SSS 1

SS 1 New Entrants Male Female Both

18,503 12,914 31,417


GIR 32% 21% 26%

The tables show the GIR values for both sexes to decrease with increase in level of

schooling. They also show the GIR for males to be higher than that for females at

every school level. It is worth noting that each male and female GIR value is

approximately double that of the next level. The chart below shows the situation just

described clearly.

Chart 2.3. 6: GIRs for Class 1, JSS 1 and SSS 1 by Sex

Gross Enrolment Rate (GER)

The term enrolment rate is usually reserved for use with a level rather than a grade.

The Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) provides an indication of all students enrolled at a

particular level relative to the number that would be at the level if all individuals of a

particular age range in the population had been admitted. Like the GIR, the GER is

usually expressed as a percentage. A GER above 100% indicates that more students

are present in a level than would be the case if all of the official age range for the

level had been admitted. It provides confirmation that students outside the official

age range are present at a level. Although a national GER above 100% indicates that

a system has sufficient capacity to absorb all students of the official age into the level

of concern, it does not indicate how the available spaces are distributed i.e. capacity

may not be available where it’s most needed. Additionally, a GER above 100% does

not indicate if over-crowding is a problem or if the teaching/learning environment is

satisfactory, etc. A GER below 100% indicates that fewer students are present at a

level than would be the case if all of the official age range for the level had been

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

140%

Class 1 JSS 1 SSS 1

Male Female

Both

57 Making Progress

admitted. A GER value can be below 100% and yet the level still contains a large

number of students outside the official age range. The information provided by the

GER is useful for education planning purpose. In countries such as Sierra Leone

which still have significant numbers of school age children still out of school, high

GER values are not unwelcomed as they indicate that those that had been out are

entering the system. As more individuals enter a level at the official age and system

efficiency increases, GER values over 100% should decrease. A more formal

definition of Gross Enrolment Rate/Ratio (GER) can be found in Annex 1. Given

below are the GER values for the primary, junior secondary and senior secondary

levels. The full tables showing the enrolment and population estimates employed

can be found in Annex 15.

Table 2.3. 6: Gross Enrolment Rates for the Pre-Primary and Primary Levels

Pre-Primary

M Pre-Primary

F Pre-Primary

M+F Primary

M Primary

F Primary

M+F

GERs Based on SSL + CSR Projection 6% 7% 6% 126% 118% 122%

Table 2.3. 7: Gross Enrolment Rates for the Junior and Senior Secondary Levels

JSS_M JSS_F JSS_M+F SSS_M SSS_F SSS_M+F

GERs Based on SSL + CSR Projection 69% 55% 62% 40% 24% 32%

The low GER value for the pre-primary level is as expected given the low enrolment

detailed and explained earlier. Similarly the high primary GER value is not

unexpected given the large primary enrolment detailed earlier. The high value

indicates a level of success in getting individuals to enrol at the primary level. It also

indicates that many had not started primary school at the official entry age and/or

had repeated grades to the extent that many had gone beyond the official age range

for the level. It is worth noting that the GER for girls is only higher than that for

males at the pre-primary level. It is also worth noting that the GER decreases as the

educational ladder is ascended from primary to junior and then senior secondary

level. A clearer picture of the GER situation can be seen in the chart below.

Chart 2.3. 7: GERs for the Primary, Junior and Senior Secondary Levels by Sex

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

140%

Prim JSS SSS

Male Female

58 Making Progress

Gender Parity Indices (GPIs)

With knowledge of the gross completion rates (GERs), it is possible to compute GER

based Gender Parity Indices (GPI). The GER based GPI is a better indicator of gender

parity in overall enrolment at a level than the G/B ratio because the latter takes no

account of the proportion in which the sexes are found in the population of interest.

When the ratio of the sexes in the population of interest is1:1 then the G/B ratio and

GPI are exactly the same but this is rarely the case. Given below are the GER based

GPI values for the different levels of schooling. The G/B ratios are showed alongside

for the purpose of comparison.

Table 2.3. 8: Gender Parity Indices (GPIs) based on the Primary Level GER and G/B Ratios by School Level

Pre-Primary Primary Junior Sec. Senior Sec.

GPI (GER based) 104% 94% 80% 59%

G/B Ratio 105% 95% 82% 61%

In the 2010/11 school year, gender parity decreased with increase in school level.

The further up the school ladder the bigger the parity gap between the levels. Whilst

parity may be possible within the next few years at the primary level, parity at the

junior secondary level is likely to take slightly longer and parity at the senior

secondary level may take quite a long time given that the GPI is still just 59%.

Focusing more resources at girls in the junior secondary level and providing them

with support to move to the next level can dramatically improve gender parity at the

senior secondary level. This is partly based on the observation that whilst gender

parity based on enrolment at the junior secondary level is 82%, parity based on the

gross completion rate for the level is 72% and parity based on the gross intake rate

for the senior secondary level is 68% as shown in the tables below.

Table 2.3. 9: Gender Parity Indices (GPIs) for Entry to the Primary, Junior and Senior Secondary Levels

Class 1 JSS 1 SSS 1

GPI (GIR based) 91% 81% 68%

It is worth noting that gender parity based on intake of new entrants into the first

grade of each level is less than parity based on total enrolment at the primary and

junior secondary levels. It suggests that parity at these levels may decrease in

coming years which is the opposite of the desired.

Many who enrol do not complete a level for a wide variety of reasons. Non-

completion results in a waste of scarce resources. It is therefore wise to keep track

of the level completion rates. One completion rate measure is the Gross Completion

Rate (GCR). It is a proxy measure and is therefore frequently referred to as the Proxy

Completion Rate (PCR). It is computed by dividing non-repeating students in the last

grade of a level by the population of the official completion age. The assumption is

made that all students who make it to the last grade of a level completes the level

59 Making Progress

even though this is not always the case. The higher the PCR value the better. In

countries like Sierra Leone PCR values that approach 100% are very rare.

A more formal definition of the Gross Completion Rate / Proxy Completion Rate can

be found in Annex 1.

Gross Completion Rate (GCR) / Proxy Completion Rate (PCR)

Given below are the PCR values for the primary, junior and senior secondary levels.

More detailed tables can be seen in Annex 16.

Table 2.3. 10: Proxy Completion Rate Values for the Primary, Junior and Senior Secondary Levels

Primary

M Primary

F Primary

M+F JSS M

JSS F

JSS M+F

SSS M

SSS F

SSS M+F

PCRs Based on SSL + CSR Age Projections 79% 73% 76% 57% 41% 49% 35% 17% 26%

The primary PCR values are encouraging although they are still some distance from

the target of 100% and are lower than the 2010 target in the Education Sector Plan

of 75% - girls and 84% - boys. The JSS PCR values are of concern given that the

national goal is universal access and completion of basic education. The SSS PCR

values are discouraging but not unexpected, particularly that for females, given the

enrolment situation described earlier. The chart below shows the situation clearly.

Chart 2.3. 8: Proxy Completion Rates for the Primary, Junior and Senior Secondary Levels

The table and chart show the gap between the PCR for males and females to be

widening as the educational ladder is ascended. The drop between the primary and

junior secondary level is worrying given the nation’s basic education goals. This gap

must receive serious attention not only for the sake of achieving the aforementioned

goals but also because reducing gender disparities at the higher levels require this

gap to first be addressed.

When the GPIs based on the PCR values are computed it becomes apparent from the

table below that there are similar large parity gaps between the levels. The fact that

the females who complete senior secondary schooling correspond to only 50% of

those we should expect if parity existed is alarming.

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Prim JSS SSS

Male Female

60 Making Progress

Table 2.3. 11: Gender Parity Indices (GPIs) based on Level Completion

Primary Junior Sec Senior Sec

GPI (PCR based) 93% 72% 50%

The fact that level completion based gender parity is much less than parity based on

total enrolment at the junior and senior secondary levels is worrying as it suggests

that more girls may be dropping out and/or repeating than their male counterparts.

More profound enrolment analysis and the computing of additional rates can be

found in the Country Status Report on Education for Sierra Leone which is being

drafted alongside this document.

2.3.5 Relationship between Class 6 Enrolment and National Primary School Examination (NPSE) Performance of School

Every year the wait with bated breath to hear the announcement of the names of

individuals and schools which have performed well in the examinations conducted

by WAEC. Every year the public notes that majority of schools at the top of the NPSE

performance list seem to enter relatively few candidates. This appears to provide

support for the school of thought that students in small classes receive more

individual attention and are therefore better able to benefit from the teaching

provided and as a consequence perform better in external examinations than those

in large classes in which students receive much less individual attention, if any. (The

public is seemingly unaware of the fact that the majority of primary schools enter

relatively few candidates for the NPSE. For example, in 2011, the majority of

primary schools entered fewer than 20 candidates and total size of Class 6 was less

than 25.)

If a class consists of more than a single stream then the stream size becomes a very

important factor in the analysis that follows. Under ideal experimental conditions,

all variables would be held constant except class/stream size before comparing the

performance of the schools. In this instance we have data from the 2010/11 school

census and data from the 2011 NPSE. The foregoing being the case, the decision was

taken to check to see if there is any relationship between the number of candidates

entered by a school and the performance of that school in the NPSE as well as the

relationship between the Class 6 / average Class 6 size of a school and the

performance of that school at the NPSE, as a first part in what the authors hope

would be a larger study taken on by those interested in educational research. In this

preliminary work intended to stimulate educational research interest, variables

such as teacher qualification, teacher experience, school type, student : teacher

61 Making Progress

contact time / length of teaching day, home background, geographical location, etc.,

have not been held constant.

All primary schools with Class 6 that entered correct WAEC school codes in their

census questionnaires were used. A total of 2,806 primary schools fulfilled the initial

criteria of submitting correct WAEC codes and having records in the NPSE database

as well as the Schools database of the census. 2,735 schools met the second criteria

of having students enrolled in Class 6 or having candidates for the NPSE. 46 schools

reported having no Class 6 students but yet entered candidates for the NPSE. 21 of

the latter entered in excess of 100 candidates. Finally, schools that did not indicate

the number of streams of Class 6 that they possessed were omitted. This left a total

of 2,472 schools for the analysis that follows.

The analysis indicates that a significant number of schools (23%) enter more

candidates than students enrolled in Class 6 whilst the majority enter fewer

candidates than enrolled students as the table below shows.

Table 2.3. 12: Comparison Total Class 6 Size and Number Sitting 2011 NPSE

Class 6 Total Less than Candidates

Class 6 Total More than Candidates

Class 6 Total and Candidates Same Total

564 1,350 558 2,472 22.8% 54.6% 22.6%

The fact that many schools enter more candidates than they have students enrolled

in Class 6 is not unexpected given the following:

i. Many primary schools are unapproved and do not have a WAEC ‘School

Number’ even though they have students in Class 6. These usually make

an arrangement with a school having a WAEC ‘School Number’ to have

their students sit the NPSE under the latter school.

ii. Although many ‘fail’ the NPSE but somehow end up in a junior secondary

school, a significant number repeat the examination under a school

unable to accommodate them in Class 6 due to over-crowding,

iii. Some candidates are so determined to enter specific junior secondary

schools that even when they ‘pass’ they repeat the examination because

they are unable to get into their school of choice. Not all are able to repeat

Class 6 in their primary schools because of a lack of space but they are

allowed to repeat the NPSE under the school.

iv. Some heads of schools and staff members enter candidates who are not

attending their schools as a means of either bringing additional income to

the school and/or self

It is worth noting that preliminary analysis indicates that even greater percentages

of junior and senior secondary schools enter more candidates for the Basic

Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and West African Senior School Certificate

Examination (WASCE) than they have students in JSS 3 and SSS 3 respectively.

62 Making Progress

In order to discover the relationship, if any, between the total number of students in

Class 6 in a school and performance in the NPSE, as well as the relationship between

the number of candidates actually attempting the examination from a school and

NPSE performance, a Pearson Product Moment Correlation (r) computation was

carried out since it was assumed that the relationship was linear. The Correlation

Coefficient values(r) obtained are shown in the table below.

Table 2.3. 13: Pearson Product Moment Correlation (r) Values

Class 6 Total Ave Class 6 Size Candidates Pass Rate

Class 6 Total 1 0.789 0.825 0.017

Ave Class 6 Size 0.789 1 0.627 0.053

Candidates 0.825 0.627 1 0.007

Pass Rate 0.017 0.053 0.007 1

The value of the correlation coefficient r varies between 1 and -1. A positive ‘r’

indicates that as a value increases the compared value also increases whilst a

negative value indicates that as a value increases, the compared value decreases.

The more positive or negative the value of ‘r’ the stronger the relationship. The

strength of the relationship indicated by ‘r’ depends on what is being compared

and/or the use of the finding. Even so, the strength of the relationship indicated by

‘r’ is in most cases as shown in the table below.

Table 2.3. 14: Pearson r Values and Strength of Relationship/Correlation

Correlation Negative Positive

None -0.09 to 0.0 0.0 to 0.09

Small -0.3 to -0.1 0.1 to 0.3

Medium -0.5 to -0.3 0.3 to 0.5

Strong -1.0 to -0.5 0.5 to 1.0 Source: Wikipedia

The correlation coefficient values obtained and shown in Table 2.3.9 clearly

indicates that nationally, there is no relationship between the total Class 6 size of a

school and school performance in the NPSE (r = 0.017). There is even less of a

relationship between the number of candidates from a school sitting and

performance in the NPSE (r = 0.007). When however the number of streams of Class

6 are taken into account and an ‘average Class 6 size’ is used, there is an

improvement in the correlation coefficient (r = 0.053) but it is still not sufficiently to

indicate any relationship of note even though the fact that r is positive is contrary to

what is expected if performance improves (gets larger) as average Class 6 size

decreases. The values indicate that nationally, schools with small numbers of

candidates or small Classes 6 do not necessarily perform any better in the NPSE than

schools with large classes. This means that nationally smaller classes alone cannot

account for the excellent performance of some schools in the NPSE.

Interestingly, when primary schools in the Freetown City Council area alone are

considered, the Pearson r value is -0.27 for average Class 6 size versus NPSE

performance of school, -0.30 for total Class 6 size versus NPSE performance of

63 Making Progress

school and -0.34 for number of candidates versus NPSE performance of school. This

means that there is a small to medium correlation between decreasing total and

average Class 6 size of a school and increasing school pass rate i.e. there seems to be

an advantage to having a smaller total and average Class 6 size in Freetown –

smaller class higher pass rate. There is also a slightly stronger relationship between

decreasing numbers of candidates and increasing school pass rate. Since smaller

classes in Freetown tend to be found in private primary schools the latter points to

an advantage being in a private school. This should be investigated by someone with

the interest keeping in mind that many variables have not been held constant as

would have to be the case in a proper experimental design.

The strong correlation between total students enrolled in Class 6 and ‘candidates

sitting the NPSE’ is expected given that NPSE candidates are supposed to come from

those enrolled in Class 6. Pearson r is not closer to 1 because of schools which have

NPSE candidates greater than their Class 6 enrolment. The latter happens when

schools allow NPSE repeaters not enrolled at the school.

64 Making Progress

2.4 Changes in Enrolment and Related Rates

2.4.1 Enrolment

In the preceding section on schools, a 38% increase in primary school and 291%

increase in secondary school numbers since the 2004/05 school year was reported

An increase in the numbers of schools can be an indication of increasing access

(more students) or an improvement in quality (more classrooms – smaller classes –

more spacious environment) or both an increase in access and improvement in

quality. In the paragraphs that follow we check if access has increased in the last few

years at all levels of schooling. Data from the 2007 published Country Status Report

on Education in Sierra Leone was used for numbers on enrolment prior to the

2010/11 school year.

Prior to the 2010/11 school census, very limited or no post-census validation

exercise was carried out on enrolment data. In fact, prior to the commencement of

annual school censuses under the Sababu Education Project, national enrolment

data was that supplied by the District Education Offices (DEOs). The latter was

generally found to have problems of inflation but these tended to be ignored. The

original 2010/11 enrolment data was found to be inflated but it was rigorously

validated using a large sample of schools from all local council areas and all levels of

schooling. The result was that inflation was eliminated to all intents and purposes.

This means the comparisons that follow will involve post-validated 2010/11

enrolment totals and enrolment totals from earlier years that could be inflated.

Compared to enrolment in 2003/04 to 2005/06, enrolment at the pre-primary level

has increased as the chart below shows.

Chart 2.4. 1: Pre-Primary School Enrolment in 2003/04 – 2005/06 and 2010/11

Between the 2005/06 and 2010/11 school year, enrolment at the pre-primary level

increased by 106%. This is unlike the situation between 2004/05 and 2005/06

when enrolment decreased by 12% largely because of reduced public interest.

Notwithstanding the significant increase between 2005/06 and 2010/11, it is worth

noting that relative to enrolment at the primary level there has been no significant

change for a number of years. In 2003/04 and 2004/05, enrolment at the pre-

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

Boys Girls Both

2003/04 2004/05

2005/06 2010/11

65 Making Progress

primary level was just 2% of that at the primary. By the 2010/11 school year this

had risen to just 3% as can be seen from Annex 17.

Enrolment at the primary level has risen steadily over the years. Between 2004/05

and 2010/11 enrolment appears to decrease because of inflation of the 2004/05

totals which were not addressed. Similar inflation in totals is suspected for

preceding years. When the inflation in the 2010/11 totals are not addressed

(2010/11(pre)), the expected increase in enrolment between 2004/05 and 2010/11

is observed as the chart below shows.

Chart 2.4. 2: Primary School Enrolment in 2000/01 – 2004/05 and 2010/11

The increase in overall enrolment noted for each of the years in the chart above is

due to increase in both male and female enrolment. In fact the percentage increase

in female enrolment is greater than the increase in male enrolment as can be noted

from the table in Annex 17. Even the post-validation female enrolment for

2010/11(post) is greater than that for 2004/05 – only the male enrolment

decreases.

The regular increases in enrolment at the primary level, especially female enrolment

can be largely attributed to the great efforts made by the GOSL and its partners to

achieve universal primary education en route to achieving universal basic education.

The large jump between 2001/02 and 2002/03 was due to the introduction of fee

‘free’ primary schooling in 2001.

As in the case of the pre-primary and primary levels, enrolment at the junior

secondary level has been increasing over the years as the chart below shows.

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1,400,000

1,600,000

Male Fem Both

2000/01 2001/02 2002/03

2003/04 2004/05 2010/11(pre)

2010/11(post)

66 Making Progress

Chart 2.4. 3: Junior Secondary School Enrolment in 2000/01 – 2004/05 and 2010/11

Using the post-validated enrolment totals for 2010/11, the chart above shows that

enrolment at the junior secondary level has increased every year of interest. Both

male and female enrolments have increased but female enrolment has increased at a

much faster rate (80% as against 43% between 2004/05 and 2010/11) as the table

in Annex 17 shows. The latter is encouraging as it suggests that the effort of the

GOSL and its partners to increase female enrolment at the post-primary level is

bearing fruit. This effort needs to be maintained as GPI values based on GIRs for the

different levels suggest enrolment based parity values may soon start decreasing.

Relative to enrolment at the primary level enrolment at the junior secondary level

stayed between 10% and 13% prior to the 2010/11 school year which saw it rise to

approximately 20% as shown in Annex 17.

Between 2000/01 and 2010/11, enrolment at the senior secondary level fluctuated

as shown in the chart below.

Chart 2.4. 4: Senior Secondary School Enrolment in 2000/01 – 2004/05 and 2010/11

As in the case of the primary and junior secondary levels there was a sharp increase

(63%) in enrolment between 2001/02 and 2002/03 due to a number of factors that

included the official end of the civil war – all parts of the country could now be

accessed, schools that had closed could resume, introduction of ‘free’ primary

education and commencement of ‘free’ WAEC examinations.

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

Male Fem Both

2000/01 2001/02 2002/03

2003/04 2004/05 2010/11

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

Male Fem Both

2000/01 2001/02

2002/03 2003/04

2004/05 2010/11

67 Making Progress

Between the 2004/05 and 2010/11 school year enrolment increased overall by

141% (136% - male, 150% - female). The increase can largely be attributed to the

continuing free West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) as

well as increasing numbers of students transiting from the junior secondary level.

It is heartening to note that between 2003/04 and 2004/05 as between 2004/05

and 2010/11, the percentage increase in female enrolment at the senior secondary

level exceeded that of males. It is necessary to maintain this trend if gender parity is

to be achieved.

Relative to enrolment at the preceding levels, it is apparent that changes in

enrolment are not as significant as it initially appears. For example, between

2000/01 and 2004/05 enrolment at the senior secondary level was consistently

between 3% and 4% that at the primary level. Similarly, between 2001/02 and

2004/05 enrolment at the senior secondary level was consistently 29% of that at the

junior secondary level. Only in 2010/11 did enrolment at the senior secondary level

rise to 9% of that at the primary level and 44% of that at the junior secondary level.

Data on which the charts above where built and which guided the accompanying

comments can be found in Annex 17.

2.4.2 Enrolment Rates

Changes in enrolment are usually accompanied by changes in enrolment rates. In

the paragraphs that follow the changes that have taken place since the 2001/02

school year are briefly discussed.

Available data indicates that between 2001/02 and 2004/05, the primary level

Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) increased annually. Between 2004/05 and 2010/11 the

primary GER fell by 40% from 162% to 122% as shown in the table below.

Table 2.4. 1: Gross Enrolment Rate Values 2001/02 – 2004/05, 2010/11

Years Primary Junior Sec Senior Sec

2001/02 89% 23% 7%

2002/03 131% 38% 12%

2003/04 146% 39% 12%

2004/05 162% 44% 14%

2010/11 122% 62% 32%

As stated in an earlier section, there is reason to believe that enrolment data prior to

that for 2010/11 is moderately inflated especially at the primary level. This in part

explains the quite high primary level GERs for 2002/03 to 2004/05 but even the

2001/02 enrolment numbers may be inflated.

GERs over 100% are caused in countries like Sierra Leone by large numbers of

students above the age range for the level. The latter is usually due to (i) many

68 Making Progress

students starting school above the official entry age, (ii) grade repetition and (iii)

drop outs returning back to a level when much older. The 2010/11 GER value of

122% even though high is much less than the 2004/05 value. This is a desirable

trend as it is likely to be partly due to enrolled students outside the official age range

for the primary level (6 to 11 years) getting fewer.

Junior and senior secondary GERs increased annually between 2001/02 and

2004/05 and also between 2004/05 and 2010/11. The increases are heartening as

they indicate increasing enrolments even if they are largely due to students outside

the official ages for the levels. The 18% increases for both levels between 2004/05

and 2010/11 are not as large they might initially appear when the 5 year gap

between the two school years is taken into account. Given that enrolment at the

junior and senior secondary levels is expected to increase quite rapidly over the next

few years, the GER is also expected to keep increasing.

The Gross Intake Rate (GIR) for the primary level has varied greatly since 2001/02

as the table below shows.

Table 2.4. 2: Primary Level Gross Intake Rate Values 2001/02 – 2004/05, 2010/11

Years Primary GIR

2001/02 148%

2002/03 174%

2003/04 191%

2004/05 216%

2010/11 121%

From 148% in 2001/02 the primary level GIR rose to an amazing 216% in 2004/05,

before sliding back to 121% in 2010/11. As stated earlier there is reason to believe

that the high GIR values from 2001/02 to 2010/11 are the result of unaddressed

inflation of enrolment numbers. It is apparent that even when much, if not all,

inflation is removed, such as happened in 2010/11, the GIR value still remains quite

high indicating that large numbers of children are being enrolled annually many of

whom are outside the official entry age (6 years) for the level. A high GIR is not

completely undesirable given that the major concern of the GOSL is to get children to

school irrespective of age. As primary schools become easier to access and the cost

barrier, hidden and unhidden, becomes lower, more children will start school at the

official age, those outside the official age will become less and the GIR will become

lower. Annual reduction of the GIR whilst it is above 100% would be a signal to the

GOSL and its partners that efforts to get children to start school at the official age

and to make primary schools more accessible are succeeding.

The concerns of the GOSL and its partners for education go beyond getting children

to start school. Completion of quality schooling is an equally important concern. The

Gross Completion Rate (GCR) aka Proxy Completion Rate (PCR) has been introduced

in an earlier section. It is heartening to note that it has been increasing steadily as


69 Making Progress

Table 2.4. 3: Gross Completion Rate Values - 2001/02, 2004/05, 2010/11

Years Primary Junior Secondary Senior Secondary

2001/02 33% 17% 6%

2004/05 65% 31% 10%

2010/11 76% 49% 26%

It is worth noting from the table above that since 2001/02, the GCR has more than

doubled at the primary, junior and senior secondary levels. The increase has been

greatest at the senior secondary level at which the GCR has more than quadrupled.

Whilst the increases in the post-primary GCRs are encouraging, the actual values

however are far from satisfactory and warrant serious concerns.

A GCR of 76% at the primary level is commendable and is not too far away from the

2010 target of 79% in the Education Sector Plan of 2007 but it is still some distance

away from the GOSL and Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of 100%

which Sierra Leone hopes to reach by 2015.

Overall, the trend in GCRs is encouraging at all levels but there is still cause for

concern.

70 Making Progress

2.5 Comparison with JSS Girls’ Education Support Programme Numbers

As a further check on the validity of the enrolment data employed in this report, a

comparison was carried out with enrolment data collected for the purpose of the Junior

Secondary Girls’ Support Programme.

The JSS Girls’ Education Support Programme was originally started to increase the very

low junior secondary school access and retention rates of girls in the Eastern and

Northern Regions of Sierra Leone. At commencement, the package consisted of learning

materials (textbooks, exercise books, pens and pencils), uniforms and school fees for

girls in the first grade of government and government-assisted junior secondary school

(JSS1) before expansion in succeeding years to include the other grades (JSS1 and 2).

Such was the cost of the programme that significant scaling down soon became

necessary as increases in the JSS enrolment of girls in the Eastern and Northern Regions

started occurring and as the other two regions started agitating for a similar package for

their girls. The programme has now been scaled up to include JSS girls from all regions

but scaled down to cover only school fee support. This support is reduced as the

educational ladder is ascended. Thus whilst girls in JSS1 receive school fee support for

the whole school year, JSS2 girls receive support for two out of three terms and JSS3

girls receive support for only a single term.

In order to administer the programme, the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Education,

Science and Technology collect grade enrolment data on girls in all approved

government and government-assisted junior secondary schools. This enrolment data is

used to determine the support that each school should receive in order to reimburse

girls who have already paid fees and/or to directly use for Board approved purposes if

fees have not been collected.

The above means that the Accounts Division of MEST possesses grade enrolment data

for girls in all approved and assisted public JSSs. This data was forwarded to the

Planning Directorate by the Accounts Division and a local council area and grade

randomly selected for the purpose of comparison with the post validation enrolment

numbers employed in this report. Girls in JSS1 of approved and financially assisted

junior secondary schools in the Kailahun Local Council Area were selected for the

exercise. 22 approved and financially assisted JSSs with girls enrolled were identified

from the school census data as existing in the Kailahun Local Council Area but only 16

had been forwarded to the Accounts Division for support under the programme. The

JSS1 girls’ enrolment of the 16 schools was compared to the post-validation school

census enrolment numbers for these schools even though the correction factor arrived

at after the validation exercise was local council rather than school based. The

comparison indicated that 5 schools had sent lower enrolment numbers to the

Inspectorate than expected, 5 had sent the same or very close to the same numbers as in

the school census and 6 had sent in higher numbers. Caution should be exercised in

reading much into the individual school comparisons because of the nature of the

correction factor, overall however, the total for the 16 Kailahun schools in the document

71 Making Progress

received from the Accounts Division was very close to the total expected from the post-

validation school census enrolment data as the table below shows.

Table 2.5. 1: Kailahun Local Council Total JSS1 Girls’ Enrolment of Schools Receiving JSS Girls Support Programme Funds

Number of Schools Accounts Div. Girls Total School Census Girls Total Difference % Difference

16 1,337 1,331 6 0.50%

Given the variation that presently exists, it is the intention of the GOSL to start using the

school census numbers as the basis of all its school level interventions and all payments.

72 Making Progress

Section 3

Final Words on Volume 1

This volume of the School Census Report is being drafted at the same time as data

analysis for the 2012 Country Status Report (CSR) on Education in Sierra Leone is

being carried out by a team led by a World Bank staff member. Discussion with the

World Bank team leader for the CSR data analysis and the main author of this report

had resulted in the following agreement:

i. Preliminary results obtained by the CSR data analysis team would not be

used and/or cited in this report apart from the population estimates – the

computation of which had been agreed in separate discussions with the main

author of this report and Statistics Sierra Leone.

ii. Aspects of the data analysis not essential to this report should be left for the

CSR in which it would be important

iii. The population estimates computed by the CSR data analysis team and other

numbers may be further revised / improved prior to the drafting of the CSR.

This would have implications for numbers in this report but differences, if

any, are expected to be small

Every attempt has been made in the report to adhere to the above agreement.

In addition to the above, analysis of the nature carried out in this report lead to

important policy questions. Only some of these questions and related policy

implications have been highlighted in this report. The CSR will spell out more of the

policy implications of the findings detailed herein and the Education Sector Plan, the

other sister document to this report will, amongst other things, detail measures to

be taken to address the most critical of the issues highlighted.

No attempt has been made to include all issues on which data was collected in the

November 2010 census in this report. This is because Volume 2 of this report is to

deal in detail with teacher issues and also because some of the unused data have

reliability concerns that cannot be easily addressed. The teacher issues are many,

complex and merit a volume in which they can be detailed for better public

understanding of the challenges and the critical role teachers play in the well-being

of the system and Sierra Leone society.

Data from the 2011/12 school census are being captured even as this report is being

drafted. This data will be used in conjunction with the data in this, and other reports,

to start identifying trends in areas for which such analysis was not previously

possible.

I Making Progress

References

Cameron, Laurie; Primary Completion Rates, Education Policy and Data Center, September 2006

Revision

Republic of Sierra Leone, Statistics Sierra Leone: 2004 Population and Housing Census - Analytical Report

on Education and Literacy, 2006

Republic of Sierra Leone, Statistics Sierra Leone: 2004 Population and Housing Census - Analytical Report

on Population Projections for Sierra Leone, 2006

Republic of Sierra Leone, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology: Sierra Leone Education Sector

Plan – A Road-Map to a Better Future – 2007: 2015, 2007

Republic of Sierra Leone, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology: Addressing Challenges at a

Time of Rapid Change – The 2010/11 Education Sector Review Report, 2011

Republic of Sierra Leone, Government White Paper on the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Poor

Performance of Pupils in the 2008 BECE and WASSCE Examinations, 2011

Republic of Liberia, Ministry of Education: A System in Transition – The 2007/08 National School Census

Report, 2009

Republic of Liberia, Ministry of Education: A Case for System Transformation – The 2008/09 National

School Census Report, 2010

UNESCO Institute for Statistics: Education Indicators – Technical Guidelines

World Bank: Education in Sierra Leone – Present Challenges, Future Opportunities, 2007

West African Examinations Council, Freetown Office: National Primary School Examination Results for

2011

West African Examinations Council, Freetown Office: Basic Education Certificate Examination Results for

2011

West African Examinations Council, Freetown Office: West African Senior School Certificate Examination

Results for 2011

II Making Progress

Annex 1

Definitions

Apparent/Gross Intake Rate (AIR/GIR)

The Apparent Intake Rate, also known as the Gross Intake Rate, is defined as the total number of

new entrants in the first grade of primary education, regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of

the population of the official primary school-entrance age.

Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER)

Gross Enrollment Ratios are the ratio of all students, regardless of age, enrolled in an educational

level to the number of individuals of the official age for that level in the population as a whole

multiplied by 100.

Gender Parity Index (GPI)

The Gender Parity Index (GPI) is the ratio of boys and girls enrolled in an educational level. It is

usually computed as the ratio of the Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) of females to males at an

educational level. There is however a trend to also compute it using the Net Enrolment Rate (NER)

in order to have a clear picture of the relative enrolments of the sexes of the official age in a specific

educational level.

Gross Completion Rate (GCR)/Proxy Completion Rate (PCR)

The Gross Completion Rate is a proxy measure defined as the number of students, regardless of age,

completing the final year of each level of education divided by the population of the official

completion age for the level.

Official Age

The official age groups for each schooling level are:

Level Age (Years)

Pre-primary 3 – 5 years

Primary 6 – 11 years

Junior Secondary School (JSS) 12 – 14 years

Senior Secondary School (SSS) 15 – 17 years

Percentage of Repeaters

Percentage of repeaters refers to the repeaters in a grade in a particular year expressed as a percentage

of total enrolment in that grade and that same year.

Repetition rate

Repetition rates are the number of pupils who are enrolled in the same grade (or level) as the

previous year, expressed as a percentage of the total enrolment in the given grade (or level) of

education.

III Making Progress

Annex 2

Approval Status of Schools by Local Council and School Level

Pre-Primary

Local Council No

Response Not

Approved Approved All %

Unapproved

Kailahun District Council 1 13 5 19 68%

Kenema City Council 26 9 35 74%

Kenema District Council 6 4 10 60%

Koidu - New Sembehun City Council 17 3 20 85%

Kono District Council 21 5 26 81%

Bombali District Council 4 4 100%

Kambia District Council 11 3 14 79%

Koinadugu District Council 7 4 11 64%

Makeni City Council 6 8 14 43%

Port Loko District Council 4 15 11 30 50%

Tonkolili District Council 1 13 3 17 76%

Bo City Council 17 26 43 40%

Bo District Council 6 6 12 50%

Bonthe District Council 3 10 9 22 45%


Moyamba District Council 10 5 15 67%

Pujehun District Council 4 2 6 67%

Freetown City Council 6 81 162 249 33%

Western Rural District Council 1 57 37 95 60%

National 16 324 304 644 50%

Primary

Local Council No

Response Not


Unapproved

Kailahun District Council 4 79 254 337 23%

Kenema City Council 2 51 86 139 37%

Kenema District Council 8 144 342 494 29%

Koidu - New Sembehun City Council 39 38 77 51%

Kono District Council 20 74 212 306 24%

Bombali District Council 3 244 213 460 53%

Kambia District Council 1 112 212 325 34%


Makeni City Council 5 8 44 57 14%

Port Loko District Council 14 156 349 519 30%


Bo City Council 3 26 109 138 19%

Bo District Council 1 65 365 431 15%

Bonthe District Council 6 38 150 194 20%


Moyamba District Council 3 109 361 473 23%

Pujehun District Council 2 12 254 268 4%


Western Rural District Council 104 144 248 42%

National 89 1,798 4,044 5,931 30%

IV Making Progress

Annex 2 (contd.)

Approval Status of Schools by Local Council and School Level

Junior Secondary

Local Council No

Response Not


Unapproved

Kailahun District Council 11 23 34 32%


Kenema District Council 16 16 32 50%

Koidu - New Sembehun City Council 2 10 15 27 37%

Kono District Council 12 13 25 48%

Bombali District Council 1 30 17 48 63%

Kambia District Council 30 17 47 64%



Port Loko District Council 61 35 96 64%


Bo City Council 1 14 28 43 33%


Bonthe District Council 14 8 22 64%



Pujehun District Council 3 10 13 23%


Western Rural District Council 41 35 76 54%

National 8 429 451 888 48%

Senior Secondary

Local Council No

Response Not


Unapproved

Kailahun District Council 3 7 10 30%


Kenema District Council 3 3 0%

Koidu - New Sembehun City Council 2 2 5 9 22%

Kono District Council 3 3 0%

Bombali District Council 1 2 3 33%

Kambia District Council 7 7 0%



Port Loko District Council 6 4 10 60%

Tonkolili District Council 5 7 12 42%

Bo City Council 2 9 11 18%


Bonthe District Council 3 3 0%



Pujehun District Council 4 4 0%


Western Rural District Council 1 5 8 14 36%

National 5 48 155 208 23%

V Making Progress

Annex 3

Ownership of Schools by Local Council and School Level

Pre-Primary

Council GOSL Private Community Missions Other

Agencies All %

Private %

Mission %

GOSL

Kailahun District Council 2 2 2 13 19 11% 68% 11%

Kenema City Council 5 13 17 35 37% 49% 14%

Kenema District Council 2 1 7 10 0% 70% 20%

Koidu - New Sembehun City Council 7 6 6 1 20 35% 30% 0%

Kono District Council 2 4 11 8 1 26 15% 31% 8%

Bombali District Council 2 2 4 0% 50% 0%

Kambia District Council 5 2 2 5 14 14% 36% 36%

Koinadugu District Council 2 1 2 6 11 9% 55% 18%

Makeni City Council 2 2 1 8 1 14 14% 57% 14%

Port Loko District Council 6 9 1 13 1 30 30% 43% 20%

Tonkolili District Council 2 2 3 10 17 12% 59% 12%

Bo City Council 2 18 1 22 43 42% 51% 5%

Bo District Council 4 8 12 33% 67% 0%

Bonthe District Council 2 2 2 15 1 22 9% 68% 9%

Bonthe Municipal Council 2 2 0% 100% 0%

Moyamba District Council 4 3 6 2 15 27% 40% 0%

Pujehun District Council 2 2 1 1 6 33% 17% 33%

Freetown City Council 6 148 28 65 2 249 59% 26% 2%

Western Rural District Council 3 37 15 40 95 39% 42% 3%

National 43 257 81 254 9 644 39% 42% 7%

Primary


Agencies All %

Private %

Mission %

GOSL

Kailahun District Council 72 8 255 2 337 0% 76% 21%

Kenema City Council 11 18 5 105 139 13% 76% 8%


Koidu - New Sembehun City Council 4 7 31 34 1 77 9% 44% 5%

Kono District Council 52 3 63 188 306 1% 61% 17%

Bombali District Council 60 3 130 266 1 460 1% 58% 13%


Koinadugu District Council 68 1 102 201 2 374 0% 54% 18%




Bo City Council 15 17 4 102 138 12% 74% 11%

Bo District Council 100 3 21 306 1 431 1% 71% 23%

Bonthe District Council 47 20 125 2 194 0% 64% 24%

Bonthe Municipal Council 2 7 9 0% 78% 22%

Moyamba District Council 64 7 30 362 10 473 1% 77% 14%

Pujehun District Council 50 20 198 268 0% 74% 19%


Western Rural District Council 51 51 33 112 1 248 21% 45% 21%

National 1,023 306 660 3,908 34 5,931 39% 42% 17%

VI Making Progress

Annex 3 (contd.)

Ownership of Schools by Local Council and School Level

Junior Secondary


Agencies All %

Private %

Mission %

GOSL

Kailahun District Council 1 6 27 34 0% 79% 3%

Kenema City Council 1 11 3 19 1 35 31% 54% 3%


Koidu - New Sembehun City Council 7 6 14 27 26% 52% 0%

Kono District Council 2 1 8 14 25 4% 56% 8%

Bombali District Council 1 19 27 1 48 0% 56% 2%


Koinadugu District Council 5 2 14 13 34 6% 38% 15%




Bo City Council 3 7 2 31 43 16% 72% 7%

Bo District Council 3 1 15 25 2 46 2% 54% 7%

Bonthe District Council 1 3 3 15 22 14% 68% 5%


Moyamba District Council 2 3 7 35 47 6% 74% 4%

Pujehun District Council 3 1 9 13 0% 69% 23%


Western Rural District Council 2 23 10 40 1 76 30% 53% 3%

National 67 136 168 505 12 888 39% 42% 8%

Senior Secondary


Agencies All %

Private %

Mission %

GOSL

Kailahun District Council 1 8 1 10 0% 80% 0%

Kenema City Council 1 2 8 11 18% 73% 9%

Kenema District Council 3 3 0% 100% 0%

Koidu - New Sembehun City Council 2 1 6 9 22% 67% 0%

Kono District Council 3 3 0% 100% 0%

Bombali District Council 3 3 0% 100% 0%

Kambia District Council 1 1 5 7 0% 71% 14%

Koinadugu District Council 5 5 0% 100% 0%

Makeni City Council 1 7 1 9 11% 78% 0%

Port Loko District Council 2 8 10 0% 80% 0%

Tonkolili District Council 3 2 7 12 0% 58% 25%

Bo City Council 1 2 8 11 18% 73% 9%

Bo District Council 3 1 1 4 9 11% 44% 33%

Bonthe District Council 3 3 0% 100% 0%


Moyamba District Council 1 1 9 11 9% 82% 0%

Pujehun District Council 4 4 0% 100% 0%


Western Rural District Council 1 3 4 6 14 21% 43% 7%

National 19 46 17 123 3 208 39% 42% 9%

VII Making Progress

Annex 4

Total Enrolment by Level, Proprietor and Region

Pre-Primary


East 708 2,171 827 2,817 96

North 955 1,213 729 2,819 108

South 604 1,970 646 2,664 123

West 893 9,965 2,020 5,862 162

National 3,161 15,318 4,222 14,161 489

Primary Region GOSL Private Community Mission Other

East 50,053 5,705 25,487 188,214 362

North 111,629 3,156 49,560 255,264 3,539

South 70,974 5,391 18,792 195,691 4,934

West 38,504 27,235 24,411 111,948 3,655

National 271,160 41,486 118,249 751,117 12,491

Junior Secondary


East 2,302 2,453 6,166 38,537 675

North 4,997 1,526 17,213 48,606 1,630

South 3,904 1,776 4,353 35,913 246

West 17,960 7,993 5,887 39,710 2,643

National 29,162 13,747 33,620 162,765 5,194

Senior Secondary


East 1,061 3,607 843 11,227 626

North 3,040 407 1,201 18,227 1,166

South 1,789 3,091 2,018 13,741 1,048

West 9,581 17,207 1,265 16,480 618

National 15,471 24,312 5,327 59,676 3,458

VIII Making Progress

Annex 5

School Level Enrolment by Sex, Proprietor and Region

Pre-Primary Level



East 345 363 1,006 1,164 455 372 1,374 1,443 59 37 3,239 3,380

North 458 498 549 664 358 371 1,354 1,465 51 57 2,769 3,054

South 270 334 921 1,048 333 313 1,452 1,212 68 55 3,044 2,963

West 443 450 4,862 5,103 1,023 997 2,796 3,066 71 91 9,195 9,707

National 1,515 1,646 7,338 7,980 2,169 2,053 6,976 7,186 249 240 18,247 19,104

National % Girls 52% 52% 49% 51% 49% 51%

Primary Level



East 25,578 24,475 2,902 2,803 12,842 12,645 93,978 94,236 179 184 135,479 134,342

North 58,654 52,976 1,509 1,646 26,641 22,919 134,243 121,021 1,534 2,005 222,581 200,567

South 35,954 35,020 2,697 2,694 9,689 9,103 100,047 95,644 2,600 2,334 150,986 144,795

West 19,478 19,026 13,244 13,991 12,087 12,324 56,054 55,895 1,696 1,959 102,558 103,195

National 139,664 131,496 20,352 21,134 61,258 56,990 384,321 366,796 6,008 6,482 611,604 582,899

National % Girls 48% 51% 48% 49% 52% 49%

Junior Secondary Level



East 1,765 536 1,108 1,345 3,643 2,523 21,322 17,216 238 437 28,076 22,057

North 2,902 2,095 769 757 9,985 7,228 28,285 20,321 823 806 42,764 31,207

South 2,538 1,366 877 898 2,661 1,692 19,728 16,185 105 141 25,909 20,283

West 8,788 9,172 3,479 4,514 3,103 2,785 20,602 19,107 1,376 1,268 37,347 36,846

National 15,992 13,170 6,233 7,514 19,392 14,228 89,937 72,829 2,542 2,652 134,096 110,393

National % Girls 45% 55% 42% 45% 51% 45%

Senior Secondary Level



East 988 72 2,093 1,514 457 385 7,982 3,245 320 307 11,841 5,523

North 2,128 912 200 207 883 319 12,534 5,693 728 438 16,472 7,569

South 1,523 266 1,957 1,134 781 1,237 9,253 4,489 290 757 13,804 7,883

West 5,337 4,243 8,299 8,907 598 667 10,660 5,820 271 347 25,166 19,985

National 9,976 5,494 12,550 11,762 2,719 2,608 40,429 19,247 1,609 1,849 67,283 40,960

National % Girls 36% 48% 49% 32% 53% 38%

IX Making Progress

Annex 6

Enrolment by Local Council, Sex and School Level as well as Girls/Boys Ratio


Male Fem Both Male Fem Both Male Female Both Male Fem Both

Kailahun District 569 626 1,195 29,476 30,546 60,022 6,596 4,975 11,571 2,524 888 3,412

Kenema City 1,107 1,315 2,422 24,174 25,482 49,656 6,882 6,808 13,690 5,319 2,619 7,938

Kenema District 176 217 393 40,648 38,970 79,618 5,117 2,679 7,796 346 209 555

Koidu - New Sembehun City 600 511 1,111 10,870 10,298 21,168 6,479 5,486 11,965 3,077 1,678 4,755

Kono District 787 711 1,498 30,311 29,046 59,357 3,002 2,109 5,111 575 129 704

Bombali District 69 151 220 41,215 33,651 74,866 6,733 4,623 11,356 558 185 743

Kambia District 512 460 972 41,409 35,720 77,129 7,957 4,959 12,916 3,467 1,092 4,559

Koinadugu District 392 414 806 33,006 32,254 65,260 4,081 3,467 7,548 1,442 720 2,162

Makeni City 497 474 971 7,362 6,572 13,934 6,396 4,290 10,686 5,243 2,620 7,863

Port Loko District 828 909 1,737 54,610 52,126 106,736 8,103 6,090 14,193 2,646 1,184 3,830

Tonkolili District 471 646 1,117 44,979 40,244 85,223 9,494 7,778 17,272 3,116 1,768 4,884

Bo City 1,002 1,032 2,034 20,318 23,363 43,681 9,963 8,943 18,906 8,920 4,087 13,007

Bo District 375 289 664 42,561 38,839 81,400 4,744 3,225 7,969 1,537 1,990 3,527

Bonthe District 837 715 1,552 18,050 17,196 35,246 3,242 2,300 5,542 1,300 490 1,790

Bonthe Municipal 55 54 109 773 791 1,564 430 525 955 190 84 274

Moyamba District 430 384 814 43,117 40,073 83,190 4,884 3,034 7,918 1,291 999 2,290

Pujehun District 345 489 834 26,167 24,533 50,700 2,646 2,256 4,902 566 233 799

Freetown City 6,963 7,341 14,304 74,639 76,216 150,855 29,666 29,752 59,418 23,044 18,752 41,796

Western Rural District 2,232 2,366 4,598 27,919 26,979 54,898 7,681 7,094 14,775 2,122 1,233 3,355

National 18,247 19,104 37,351 611,604 582,899 1,194,503 134,096 110,393 244,489 67,283 40,960 108,243

G/B Ratio 1.05 0.95 0.82 0.61

X Making Progress

Annex 6 (contd.)

Enrolment by Local Council, Sex and School Level as well as Girls/Boys Ratio

Girls/Boys Ratio

Council Pre-Prim G/B Primary G/B JSS G/B SSS G/B

Kailahun District 1.10 1.04 0.75 0.35

Kenema City 1.19 1.05 0.99 0.49

Kenema District 1.23 0.96 0.52 0.60

Koidu - New Sembehun City 0.85 0.95 0.85 0.55

Kono District 0.90 0.96 0.70 0.22

Bombali District 2.19 0.82 0.69 0.33

Kambia District 0.90 0.86 0.62 0.31

Koinadugu District 1.06 0.98 0.85 0.50

Makeni City 0.95 0.89 0.67 0.50

Port Loko District 1.10 0.95 0.75 0.45

Tonkolili District 1.37 0.89 0.82 0.57

Bo City 1.03 1.15 0.90 0.46

Bo District 0.77 0.91 0.68 1.29

Bonthe District 0.85 0.95 0.71 0.38

Bonthe Municipal 0.98 1.02 1.22 0.44

Moyamba District 0.89 0.93 0.62 0.77

Pujehun District 1.42 0.94 0.85 0.41

Freetown City 1.05 1.02 1.00 0.81

Western Rural District 1.06 0.97 0.92 0.58

XI Making Progress

Annex 7

Total School Level Enrolment by Local Council, Sex and Proprietor

Council


Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls

Kailahun District 8,324 8,171 90 136 1,710 1,861 28,617 26,469 425 398

Kenema City 4,159 3,260 2,663 2,805 1,302 1,559 29,108 28,140 249 460

Kenema District 8,100 7,669 52 196 4,118 3,844 34,017 30,363 0 3

Koidu - New Sembehun City 1,042 895 3,645 3,059 3,962 3,149 12,312 10,802 65 68

Kono District 7,053 5,452 660 629 6,306 5,511 20,600 20,367 56 35

Bombali District 8,690 6,831 313 549 11,073 9,024 28,146 21,955 354 250

Kambia District 15,061 12,504 208 212 7,689 5,590 30,387 23,925 0 0

Koinadugu District 9,093 9,436 286 301 6,715 6,004 22,682 20,928 145 186

Makeni City 645 555 744 891 287 228 16,249 10,858 1,573 1,424

Port Loko District 17,672 16,591 1,350 1,144 5,673 4,366 41,358 37,579 134 630

Tonkolili District 12,980 10,564 125 177 6,430 5,624 37,594 33,255 930 817

Bo City 4,792 4,445 3,466 3,213 855 967 30,947 28,488 143 311

Bo District 13,296 10,996 815 871 3,279 3,183 31,097 28,292 731 1,001

Bonthe District 5,427 4,882 238 179 1,991 1,687 15,591 13,675 182 279

Bonthe Municipal 85 99 0 0 217 80 1,146 1,275 0 0

Moyamba District 9,877 9,212 1,881 1,440 4,853 4,337 31,103 27,805 2,008 1,697

Pujehun District 6,807 7,354 53 72 2,268 2,091 20,596 17,994 0 0

Freetown City 25,549 24,861 25,151 27,353 11,429 11,930 69,200 64,672 2,984 3,246

Western Rural District 8,497 8,031 4,733 5,163 5,382 4,842 20,912 19,217 430 419

National 167,148 151,806 46,473 48,390 85,538 75,879 521,662 466,058 10,409 11,223

XII Making Progress

Annex 8

Enrolment by School Level, Local Council and Proprietor

Pre-Primary Level


Kailahun District 91 226 253 625 0 1,195

Kenema City 481 593 0 1,349 0 2,422

Kenema District 57 0 6 330 0 393

Koidu - New Sembehun City 0 934 109 63 4 1,111

Kono District 79 418 459 450 92 1,498

Bombali District 0 0 132 88 0 220

Kambia District 295 71 178 428 0 972

Koinadugu District 159 195 105 346 0 806

Makeni City 88 266 19 539 59 971

Port Loko District 282 570 82 755 48 1,737

Tonkolili District 131 110 214 662 0 1,117

Bo City 176 975 48 834 0 2,034

Bo District 0 464 0 200 0 664

Bonthe District 96 125 251 1,017 63 1,552


Moyamba District 0 281 162 311 60 814

Pujehun District 332 124 185 192 0 834

Freetown City 316 8,331 1,493 4,003 162 14,304

Western Rural District 577 1,634 527 1,859 0 4,598

National 3,161 15,318 4,222 14,161 489 37,351

Primary Level Council GOSL Private Community Mission Other All

Kailahun District 16,233 0 1,988 41,534 267 60,022

Kenema City 5,385 3,311 1,385 39,575 0 49,656

Kenema District 14,850 0 6,856 57,912 0 79,618

Koidu - New Sembehun City 1,809 1,989 5,154 12,120 96 21,168

Kono District 11,776 406 10,103 37,073 0 59,357

Bombali District 15,305 862 15,965 42,165 569 74,866

Kambia District 26,013 75 8,652 42,389 0 77,129

Koinadugu District 16,638 287 11,359 36,646 331 65,260

Makeni City 1,015 698 262 11,593 366 13,934

Port Loko District 33,087 1,235 5,051 66,837 527 106,736

Tonkolili District 19,572 0 8,271 55,633 1,747 85,223

Bo City 6,906 2,771 1,035 32,969 0 43,681

Bo District 22,952 852 3,498 53,195 903 81,400

Bonthe District 9,731 0 2,762 22,356 397 35,246

Bonthe Municipal 184 0 0 1,380 0 1,564

Moyamba District 18,341 1,768 7,717 51,730 3,633 83,190

Pujehun District 12,859 0 3,780 34,061 0 50,700

Freetown City 23,351 21,892 18,433 83,674 3,505 150,855

Western Rural District 15,153 5,343 5,977 28,275 150 54,898

National 271,160 41,486 118,249 751,117 12,491 1,194,503

XIII Making Progress

Annex 8 (contd.)

Enrolment by School Level, Local Council and Proprietor

Junior Secondary


Kailahun District 170 0 1,297 10,104 0 11,571

Kenema City 769 692 919 10,635 675 13,690

Kenema District 863 0 1,054 5,879 0 7,796

Koidu - New Sembehun City 0 1,670 1,640 8,655 0 11,965

Kono District 500 91 1,255 3,265 0 5,111

Bombali District 216 0 4,001 7,104 35 11,356

Kambia District 833 39 4,077 7,966 0 12,916

Koinadugu District 1,732 105 1,255 4,455 0 7,548

Makeni City 98 499 235 8,371 1,484 10,686

Port Loko District 462 689 4,431 8,500 111 14,193

Tonkolili District 1,657 192 3,214 12,209 0 17,272

Bo City 1,140 594 408 16,763 0 18,906

Bo District 856 159 2,206 4,502 246 7,969

Bonthe District 333 291 515 4,403 0 5,542


Moyamba District 605 731 891 5,690 0 7,918

Pujehun District 969 0 155 3,778 0 4,902

Freetown City 17,329 6,176 2,635 31,334 1,945 59,418

Western Rural District 631 1,817 3,252 8,376 699 14,775

National 29,162 13,747 33,620 162,765 5,194 244,489

Senior Secondary


Kailahun District 0 0 32 2,823 557 3,412

Kenema City 784 873 557 5,690 34 7,938

Kenema District 0 247 46 259 3 555

Koidu - New Sembehun City 127 2,112 207 2,276 33 4,755

Kono District 150 374 0 180 0 704

Bombali District 0 0 0 743 0 743

Kambia District 424 235 371 3,529 0 4,559

Koinadugu District 0 0 0 2,162 0 2,162

Makeni City 0 172 0 6,603 1,088 7,863

Port Loko District 431 0 475 2,845 78 3,830

Tonkolili District 2,185 0 355 2,345 0 4,884

Bo City 1,014 2,339 331 8,869 454 13,007

Bo District 484 211 758 1,492 582 3,527

Bonthe District 149 0 151 1,490 0 1,790


Moyamba District 142 541 420 1,176 12 2,290

Pujehun District 0 0 239 560 0 799

Freetown City 9,414 16,106 797 14,861 618 41,796

Western Rural District 167 1,101 468 1,619 0 3,355

National 15,471 24,312 5,327 59,676 3,458 108,243

XIV Making Progress

Annex 9

Enrolment by School Level, Local Council, Sex and Proprietor Pre-Primary



Kailahun District 49 43 90 136 127 126 304 321 0 0

Kenema City 232 249 259 334 0 0 617 732 0 0

Kenema District 23 34 0 0 4 2 149 181 0 0

Koidu - New Sembehun City 0 0 482 451 74 35 40 23 3 2

Kono District 42 38 176 242 249 209 264 186 56 35

Bombali District 0 0 0 0 46 86 23 65 0 0

Kambia District 141 155 37 34 101 76 233 195 0 0

Koinadugu District 70 89 96 99 63 42 162 184 0 0

Makeni City 45 43 139 127 9 10 276 263 28 31

Port Loko District 145 137 253 317 41 40 366 389 23 26

Tonkolili District 58 73 24 86 97 117 293 369 0 0

Bo City 90 86 451 524 23 25 438 397 0 0

Bo District 0 0 216 248 0 0 159 41 0 0

Bonthe District 42 54 62 64 159 92 544 473 31 32

Bonthe Municipal 0 0 0 0 0 0 55 54 0 0

Moyamba District 0 0 140 141 80 81 173 138 37 23

Pujehun District 138 194 53 72 70 115 84 108 0 0

Freetown City 154 161 4,069 4,262 761 732 1,908 2,095 71 91

Western Rural District 288 289 793 841 263 264 888 971 0 0

National 1,515 1,646 7,338 7,980 2,169 2,053 6,976 7,186 249 240

Primary



Kailahun District 8,166 8,067 0 0 792 1,196 20,390 21,144 128 139

Kenema City 2,374 3,011 1,702 1,609 589 796 19,509 20,066 0 0

Kenema District 7,476 7,374 0 0 3,407 3,449 29,765 28,147 0 0

Koidu - New Sembehun City 987 822 1,014 974 2,759 2,395 6,059 6,062 51 45

Kono District 6,576 5,200 186 219 5,295 4,808 18,255 18,818 0 0

Bombali District 8,551 6,754 313 549 8,728 7,237 23,291 18,874 332 237

Kambia District 13,991 12,022 43 31 4,789 3,863 22,586 19,803 0 0

Koinadugu District 8,132 8,505 133 154 5,927 5,432 18,669 17,977 145 186

Makeni City 551 463 330 368 133 129 6,229 5,365 119 247

Port Loko District 16,929 16,158 690 545 2,691 2,360 34,292 32,545 8 519

Tonkolili District 10,499 9,073 0 0 4,374 3,898 29,176 26,457 930 817

Bo City 3,026 3,881 1,331 1,440 501 534 15,461 17,509 0 0

Bo District 12,208 10,744 448 404 1,753 1,745 27,675 25,520 478 425

Bonthe District 5,063 4,668 0 0 1,414 1,347 11,422 10,934 151 246


Moyamba District 9,397 8,945 918 849 4,045 3,673 26,786 24,944 1,971 1,662

Pujehun District 6,176 6,684 0 0 1,976 1,804 18,016 16,045 0 0

Freetown City 11,653 11,698 10,674 11,218 9,081 9,352 41,625 42,049 1,606 1,899

Western Rural 7,825 7,328 2,570 2,773 3,005 2,972 14,429 13,846 90 60

National 139,664 131,496 20,352 21,134 61,258 56,990 384,321 366,796 6,008 6,482

XV Making Progress

Annex 9 (contd.)

Enrolment by School Level, Local Council, Sex and Proprietor Junior Secondary


Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls JSS JSS

Kailahun District 109 61 0 0 764 533 5,723 4,381 0 0

Kenema City 769 0 285 407 475 445 5,116 5,519 238 437

Kenema District 601 261 0 0 663 391 3,853 2,026 0 0

Koidu - New Sembehun City 0 0 771 899 980 661 4,729 3,926 0 0

Kono District 285 214 53 38 761 494 1,902 1,363 0 0

Bombali District 139 77 0 0 2,299 1,702 4,274 2,830 21 14

Kambia District 569 264 0 39 2,496 1,582 4,893 3,074 0 0

Koinadugu District 890 842 57 48 725 531 2,409 2,047 0 0

Makeni City 49 49 203 297 145 90 5,264 3,107 736 748

Port Loko District 271 191 407 282 2,593 1,838 4,766 3,734 66 45

Tonkolili District 985 672 102 90 1,728 1,487 6,680 5,529 0 0

Bo City 757 383 196 398 233 176 8,777 7,986 0 0

Bo District 655 202 53 105 1,331 875 2,600 1,902 105 141

Bonthe District 225 107 176 115 314 200 2,526 1,877 0 0


Moyamba District 408 198 451 280 570 321 3,455 2,235 0 0

Pujehun District 493 476 0 0 101 54 2,052 1,726 0 0

Freetown City 8,509 8,820 2,783 3,392 1,285 1,350 16,053 15,281 1,036 909

Western Rural District 278 352 695 1,122 1,818 1,435 4,550 3,826 340 359

National 15,992 13,170 6,233 7,514 19,392 14,228 89,937 72,829 2,542 2,652

Senior Secondary



Kailahun District 0 0 0 0 26 6 2,200 623 298 259

Kenema City 784 0 418 455 239 319 3,867 1,822 11 23

Kenema District 0 0 52 196 44 2 250 9 0 3

Koidu - New Sembehun City 55 72 1,378 735 148 59 1,485 791 11 22

Kono District 150 0 245 129 0 0 180 0 0 0


Kambia District 361 63 128 107 303 68 2,675 854 0 0

Koinadugu District 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,442 720 0 0

Makeni City 0 0 72 99 0 0 4,480 2,123 691 398

Port Loko District 327 104 0 0 347 128 1,934 911 37 41

Tonkolili District 1,439 745 0 0 232 123 1,445 900 0 0

Bo City 919 95 1,488 851 98 233 6,272 2,597 143 311

Bo District 434 50 97 113 195 563 663 828 148 435

Bonthe District 97 52 0 0 104 47 1,099 391 0 0




Freetown City 5,232 4,182 7,624 8,481 302 495 9,614 5,247 271 347

Western Rural District 105 61 675 426 296 172 1,046 574 0 0

National 9,976 5,494 12,550 11,762 2,719 2,608 40,429 19,247 1,609 1,849

XVI Making Progress

Annex 10

Enrolment by School Level, Local Council, Grade and Sex

Pre-Primary

Council N1-

Boys N1-Girls

N2-Boys

N2-Girls

N3-Boys

N3-Girls

All Boys

All Girls

All Both

Kailahun District 339 376 146 166 86 87 571 630 1,201

Kenema City 439 528 391 466 275 319 1,106 1,313 2,419

Kenema District 95 114 44 57 37 47 176 217 394

Koidu - New Sembehun City 299 276 206 162 96 74 601 513 1,115

Kono District 374 340 254 207 160 165 788 711 1,499

Bombali District 44 80 22 55 4 17 69 152 221

Kambia District 276 259 154 155 84 49 513 463 976

Koinadugu District 231 232 129 138 35 46 394 416 810

Makeni City 242 227 177 151 79 96 498 475 973

Port Loko District 395 443 248 273 185 194 828 910 1,739

Tonkolili District 286 354 102 167 84 127 473 648 1,121

Bo City 456 462 332 353 214 217 1,002 1,033 2,035

Bo District 129 117 157 110 89 62 374 289 663

Bonthe District 410 340 263 218 165 157 838 716 1,554


Moyamba District 228 217 135 102 68 66 431 386 817

Pujehun District 163 204 119 201 63 84 345 489 835

Freetown City 2,870 2,970 2,171 2,290 1,910 2,065 6,951 7,325 14,276

Western Rural District 970 995 748 801 514 568 2,231 2,364 4,595

National 8,274 8,563 5,816 6,088 4,157 4,452 18,247 19,104 37,351

Primary

Council P1-

Boys P1

Girls P2-

Boys P2-

Girls P3-

Boys P3-

Girls

Kailahun District 6,805 7,083 5,885 6,309 5,406 5,739

Kenema City 3,822 3,859 4,643 5,106 4,337 4,629

Kenema District 9,532 9,035 9,069 8,770 7,693 7,712


Kono District 6,940 6,701 6,775 6,826 5,512 5,684

Bombali District 9,967 8,314 8,552 6,984 7,040 5,647

Kambia District 8,675 7,263 8,685 7,314 8,263 6,719

Koinadugu District 7,247 6,656 7,465 7,157 6,577 6,265

Makeni City 1,409 1,198 1,426 1,234 1,353 1,199



Bo City 3,409 3,623 3,846 3,954 2,979 3,537

Bo District 11,700 10,440 9,531 8,431 7,728 7,203

Bonthe District 4,774 4,339 3,734 3,861 3,148 2,956



Pujehun District 6,088 5,700 6,181 6,182 5,509 4,821

Freetown City 11,531 11,030 13,968 14,501 13,500 13,805

Western Rural District 5,005 4,885 5,081 5,045 5,395 5,260

National 131,589 121,602 127,680 123,217 113,029 107,364

XVII Making Progress

Annex 10 (contd.)


Primary (contd.)

Council P4-

Boys P4-

Girls P5-

Boys

P5-Girls

P6-Boys

P6-Girls

Kailahun District 4,877 4,942 3,838 3,990 2,665 2,483

Kenema City 4,200 4,603 3,971 3,955 3,201 3,330

Kenema District 6,416 6,163 4,663 4,298 3,275 2,991


Kono District 4,907 4,449 3,518 3,289 2,659 2,098

Bombali District 5,600 4,573 5,247 4,414 4,809 3,719

Kambia District 7,094 6,427 5,582 5,163 3,110 2,833

Koinadugu District 5,300 5,329 3,957 4,228 2,461 2,620

Makeni City 1,231 1,074 998 957 945 911



Bo City 3,454 3,991 2,826 3,242 3,803 5,015

Bo District 6,111 5,923 4,884 4,560 2,606 2,282

Bonthe District 2,702 2,623 2,322 2,169 1,369 1,247



Pujehun District 3,989 3,787 2,978 2,686 1,423 1,358

Freetown City 12,931 13,398 11,769 12,629 10,940 10,853

Western Rural District 5,154 4,695 4,065 3,884 3,220 3,210

National 97,751 94,649 80,139 77,630 61,416 58,437

XVIII Making Progress

Annex 10 (contd.)


Junior Secondary

Council JS1-Boys

JS1-Girls

JS2-Boys

JS2-Girls

JS3-Boys

JS3-Girls

All JSS Boys

All JSS Girls All JSS

Kailahun District 2,615 2,131 2,266 1,716 1,716 1,129 6,596 4,975 11,571

Kenema City 2,359 2,431 2,223 2,477 2,300 1,900 6,882 6,808 13,690

Kenema District 1,991 1,177 1,803 931 1,323 571 5,117 2,679 7,796

Koidu - New Sembehun City 2,326 1,887 2,221 2,232 1,932 1,367 6,479 5,486 11,965

Kono District 1,187 866 1,203 870 612 373 3,002 2,109 5,111

Bombali District 2,815 2,226 2,365 1,560 1,552 837 6,733 4,623 11,356

Kambia District 3,142 2,219 2,941 1,753 1,873 987 7,957 4,959 12,916

Koinadugu District 1,577 1,411 1,390 1,254 1,114 802 4,081 3,467 7,548

Makeni City 2,186 1,617 2,303 1,540 1,907 1,132 6,396 4,290 10,686

Port Loko District 3,316 2,693 2,758 2,063 2,030 1,334 8,103 6,090 14,193

Tonkolili District 3,730 3,001 3,313 2,576 2,451 2,200 9,494 7,778 17,272

Bo City 3,710 3,639 3,470 2,997 2,783 2,307 9,963 8,943 18,906

Bo District 2,179 1,636 1,599 1,068 966 521 4,744 3,225 7,969

Bonthe District 1,292 1,022 1,200 810 749 468 3,242 2,300 5,542


Moyamba District 1,980 1,305 1,718 1,085 1,186 644 4,884 3,034 7,918

Pujehun District 1,100 992 912 720 634 544 2,646 2,256 4,902

Freetown City 9,432 10,155 10,498 10,318 9,736 9,279 29,666 29,752 59,418

Western Rural District 2,846 2,687 2,447 2,345 2,388 2,062 7,681 7,094 14,775

National 49,966 43,298 46,769 38,498 37,361 28,598 134,096 110,393 244,489

Senior Secondary

Council SS1-Boys

SS1-Girls

SS2-Boys

SS2-Girls

SS3-Boys

SS3-Girls

All SS-Boys

All SS-Girls All SS

Kailahun District 858 356 914 329 752 203 2,524 888 3,412

Kenema City 1,631 813 1,823 964 1,865 842 5,319 2,619 7,938

Kenema District 102 91 156 58 89 61 346 209 555

Koidu - New Sembehun City 1,027 738 1,149 574 901 366 3,077 1,678 4,755

Kono District 312 55 128 40 135 34 575 129 704

Bombali District 207 58 202 73 149 54 558 185 743

Kambia District 1,020 395 1,524 416 923 281 3,467 1,092 4,559

Koinadugu District 480 325 537 250 425 145 1,442 720 2,162

Makeni City 1,666 1,121 1,783 892 1,794 607 5,243 2,620 7,863

Port Loko District 922 461 938 445 785 278 2,646 1,184 3,830

Tonkolili District 968 544 1,193 751 955 473 3,116 1,768 4,884

Bo City 2,836 1,730 3,350 1,326 2,735 1,031 8,920 4,087 13,007

Bo District 549 783 464 585 524 622 1,537 1,990 3,527

Bonthe District 585 260 411 155 304 75 1,300 490 1,790


Moyamba District 415 417 540 351 336 231 1,291 999 2,290

Pujehun District 271 110 191 83 104 40 566 233 799

Freetown City 6,682 7,091 8,776 6,588 7,586 5,073 23,044 18,752 41,796

Western Rural District 600 410 1,003 572 519 251 2,122 1,233 3,355

National 21,209 15,788 25,153 14,487 20,922 10,685 67,283 40,960 108,243

XIX Making Progress

Annex 11

Grade Based Enrolment Pyramid

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1,400,000

1,600,000

Enrolment

SSIII SSII

SSI JSIII

JSII JSI

Class VI Class V

Class IV Class III

Class II Class I

XX Making Progress

Annex 12

Female to Male (G/B) Ratio by Local Council, School Level and Grade

Pre-Primary

Council N1 N2 N3

Kailahun District Council 1.11 1.13 1.01

Kenema City Council 1.20 1.19 1.16

Kenema District Council 1.20 1.29 1.26

Koidu - New Sembehun City Council 0.93 0.79 0.77

Kono District Council 0.91 0.81 1.03

Bombali District Council 1.82 2.56 4.00

Kambia District Council 0.94 1.01 0.59

Koinadugu District Council 1.01 1.07 1.33

Makeni City Council 0.94 0.85 1.22

Port Loko District Council 1.12 1.10 1.05

Tonkolili District Council 1.24 1.63 1.50

Bo City Council 1.01 1.06 1.01

Bo District Council 0.91 0.70 0.69

Bonthe District Council 0.83 0.83 0.96

Bonthe Municipal Council 1.00 0.87 1.17

Moyamba District Council 0.95 0.76 0.97

Pujehun District Council 1.25 1.69 1.33

Freetown City Council 1.03 1.05 1.08

Western Rural District Council 1.03 1.07 1.10

National 1.03 1.05 1.07

Primary

Council P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6

Kailahun District Council 1.04 1.07 1.06 1.01 1.04 0.93

Kenema City Council 1.01 1.10 1.07 1.10 1.00 1.04

Kenema District Council 0.95 0.97 1.00 0.96 0.92 0.91

Koidu - New Sembehun City Council 0.94 1.02 0.90 0.97 0.97 0.86

Kono District Council 0.97 1.01 1.03 0.91 0.93 0.79

Bombali District Council 0.83 0.82 0.80 0.82 0.84 0.77

Kambia District Council 0.84 0.84 0.81 0.91 0.92 0.91

Koinadugu District Council 0.92 0.96 0.95 1.01 1.07 1.06

Makeni City Council 0.85 0.87 0.89 0.87 0.96 0.96

Port Loko District Council 0.94 1.00 0.93 0.97 0.95 0.91

Tonkolili District Council 0.88 0.92 0.93 0.90 0.86 0.83

Bo City Council 1.06 1.03 1.19 1.16 1.15 1.32

Bo District Council 0.89 0.88 0.93 0.97 0.93 0.88

Bonthe District Council 0.91 1.03 0.94 0.97 0.93 0.91

Bonthe Municipal Council 1.19 0.99 1.03 0.89 0.97 1.00

Moyamba District Council 0.89 0.93 0.89 0.98 0.98 1.01

Pujehun District Council 0.94 1.00 0.88 0.95 0.90 0.95

Freetown City Council 0.96 1.04 1.02 1.04 1.07 0.99

Western Rural District Council 0.98 0.99 0.97 0.91 0.96 1.00

National 0.92 0.97 0.95 0.97 0.97 0.95

XXI Making Progress

Annex 12 (contd.)

Female to Male (G/B) Ratio by Local Council, School Level and Grade

Junior Secondary

Council JS1 JS2 JS3




















National 0.87 0.82 0.77

Senior Secondary

Council SS1 SS2 SS3




















National 0.74 0.58 0.51

XXII Making Progress

Annex 13

Primary Level Special Needs Student Enrolment Blind Deaf/Dumb Mental Ret Other Polio

Council Male Fem Male Fem Male Fem Male Fem Male Fem

Bo City 3 4 6 11 35 33 13 11 22 14

Bo District 16 12 79 66 50 39 20 21 60 49


Bonthe District 4 3 26 19 21 13 29 38 30 24

Bonthe Municipal 5 6 2 4 1 3 2

Freetown City 27 20 57 44 76 71 86 67 90 70

Kailahun District 7 16 91 86 79 71 66 64 56 66

Kambia District 20 11 123 54 69 53 204 125 78 73

Kenema City 25 22 25 18 29 20 8 4 12 16

Kenema District 30 16 91 56 46 29 47 41 64 43

Koidu - New Sembehun City 66 45 24 25 130 138 24 24 42 42

Koinadugu District 54 54 79 41 43 26 230 204 128 101

Kono District 19 16 85 64 109 100 57 58 80 62

Makeni City 2 134 172 27 22 14 11 27 24


Port Loko District 17 11 79 80 75 42 100 103 109 83


Tonkolili District 40 27 114 82 63 39 51 40 85 90

Western Rural District 6 5 21 20 37 22 14 12 34 36

National 427 307 1,365 1,060 1,059 813 1,294 1,118 1,151 954

Council

All Special Needs

Male Female Both

Bo City 79 73 152

Bo District 225 187 412

Bombali District 550 364 914

Bonthe District 110 97 207

Bonthe Municipal 10 13 23

Freetown City 336 272 608

Kailahun District 299 303 602

Kambia District 494 316 810

Kenema City 99 80 179

Kenema District 278 185 463

Koidu - New Sembehun City 286 274 560

Koinadugu District 534 426 960

Kono District 350 300 650

Makeni City 204 229 433

Moyamba District 208 115 323

Port Loko District 380 319 699

Pujehun District 389 326 715

Tonkolili District 353 278 631

Western Rural District 112 95 207

National 5,296 4,252 9,548

XXIII Making Progress

Annex 13 (contd.)

% Primary Level Special Needs Student Enrolment

Blind Deaf/Dumb Mental Ret Other Polio

Council Male Fem Male Fem Male Fem Male Fem Male Fem

Bo City 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.2% 0.1% 0.1% 0.0% 0.1% 0.1%

Bo District 0.0% 0.0% 0.2% 0.2% 0.1% 0.1% 0.0% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1%

Bombali District 0.1% 0.1% 0.5% 0.4% 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 0.2% 0.3% 0.3%

Bonthe District 0.0% 0.0% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.1%

Bonthe Municipal 0.0% 0.0% 0.6% 0.8% 0.3% 0.5% 0.0% 0.1% 0.4% 0.3%

Freetown City 0.0% 0.0% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1%

Kailahun District 0.0% 0.1% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2%

Kambia District 0.0% 0.0% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.1% 0.5% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2%

Kenema City 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.1%

Kenema District 0.1% 0.0% 0.2% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1%

Koidu - New Sembehun City 0.6% 0.4% 0.2% 0.2% 1.2% 1.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.4% 0.4%

Koinadugu District 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.7% 0.6% 0.4% 0.3%

Kono District 0.1% 0.1% 0.3% 0.2% 0.4% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.3% 0.2%

Makeni City 0.0% 0.0% 1.8% 2.6% 0.4% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.4% 0.4%

Moyamba District 0.0% 0.0% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.0% 0.1% 0.1%

Port Loko District 0.0% 0.0% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% 0.1% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2%

Pujehun District 0.1% 0.0% 0.3% 0.3% 0.2% 0.1% 0.8% 0.8% 0.1% 0.1%

Tonkolili District 0.1% 0.1% 0.3% 0.2% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.2% 0.2%

Western Rural District 0.0% 0.0% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.0% 0.1% 0.1%

National 0.1% 0.1% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2%

Council

All Special Needs

Male Female Both

Bo City 0.4% 0.3% 0.3%

Bo District 0.5% 0.5% 0.5%

Bombali District 1.3% 1.1% 1.2%

Bonthe District 0.6% 0.6% 0.6%

Bonthe Municipal 1.3% 1.6% 1.5%

Freetown City 0.5% 0.4% 0.4%

Kailahun District 1.0% 1.0% 1.0%

Kambia District 1.2% 0.9% 1.1%

Kenema City 0.4% 0.3% 0.4%

Kenema District 0.7% 0.5% 0.6%

Koidu - New Sembehun City 2.6% 2.7% 2.6%

Koinadugu District 1.6% 1.3% 1.5%

Kono District 1.2% 1.0% 1.1%

Makeni City 2.8% 3.5% 3.1%

Moyamba District 0.5% 0.3% 0.4%

Port Loko District 0.7% 0.6% 0.7%

Pujehun District 1.5% 1.3% 1.4%

Tonkolili District 0.8% 0.7% 0.7%

Western Rural District 0.4% 0.4% 0.4%

National 0.9% 0.7% 0.8%

XXIV Making Progress

Annex 14

Average School Size by Local Council Tables

Pre-Primary

Local Council Schools Enrolment Ave School Size

Kailahun District Council 19 1,195 63

Kenema City Council 35 2,422 69

Kenema District Council 10 393 39

Koidu - New Sembehun City Council 20 1,111 56

Kono District Council 26 1,498 58

Bombali District Council 4 220 55

Kambia District Council 14 972 69

Koinadugu District Council 11 806 73

Makeni City Council 14 971 69

Port Loko District Council 30 1,737 58

Tonkolili District Council 17 1,117 66

Bo City Council 43 2,034 47

Bo District Council 12 664 55

Bonthe District Council 22 1,552 71

Bonthe Municipal Council 2 109 55

Moyamba District Council 15 814 54

Pujehun District Council 6 834 139

Freetown City Council 249 14,304 57

Western Rural District Council 95 4,598 48

National 644 37,351 58

Primary




Kenema District Council 494 79,618 161



Bombali District Council 460 74,866 163

Kambia District Council 325 77,129 237

Koinadugu District Council 374 65,260 174

Makeni City Council 57 13,934 244




Bo District Council 431 81,400 189


Bonthe Municipal Council 9 1,564 174

Moyamba District Council 473 83,190 176

Pujehun District Council 268 50,700 189



National 5,931 1,194,503 201

XXV Making Progress

Annex 14 (contd.)

Average School Size Computation Tables

Junior Secondary




Kenema District Council 32 7,796 244



Bombali District Council 48 11,356 237











Pujehun District Council 13 4,902 377



National 888 244,489 275

Senior Secondary




Kenema District Council 3 555 185


Kono District Council 3 704 235

Bombali District Council 3 743 248











Pujehun District Council 4 799 200



National 208 108,243 520

XXVI Making Progress

Annex 15

Age Profile of Enrolment at School Level

Primary

Junior Secondary

Senior Secondary

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

Less than 5 years

5 years 6 years 7 years 8 years 9 years 10 years

11 years

12 years

13 years

14 years

15 years

More than 15

years

Boys

Girls

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Below 10

years

10 years

11 years

12 years

13 years

14 years

15 years

16 years

17 years

18 years

19 years

20 years and

above

Boys Girls Both

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Below 15

years

15 years

16 years

17 years

18 years

19 years

20 years

21 years

22 years

23 years

24 years

25 years and

above

Boys

Girls

XXVII Making Progress

Annex 16

Gross Enrolment Rate Tables by School Level

Pre-Primary

Pre-Primary

Male Pre-Primary

Fem Pre-Primary Male + Fem

National Enrolment at Level 18,247 19,104 37,351

Estimated Population of 3 – 5 year olds (SSL + CSR Projection) 286,865 288,161 575,027

GERs Based on SSL + CSR Projection 6% 7% 6%

Primary

Primary

Male Primary Female

Primary Male + Fem

National Enrolment at Level 611,604 582,899 1,194,503



Junior Secondary

JSS

Male JSS

Female JSS Male +

Fem




Senior Secondary

SSS

Male SSS

Female SSS Male +

Fem




XXVIII Making Progress

Annex 17

Proxy Completion Rate Tables by School Level

Primary

Male Female Both

Class 6 New Entrants 56,710 53,837 110,547

11 yr old Population (SSL + CSR Projection) 71,814 73,492 145,306

PCR 79% 73% 76%

Junior Secondary

Male Female Both

JSS3 New Entrants 35,015 25,774 60,788

14 Yr Old Population (SSL + CSR Projection) 61,662 63,303 124,965

PCR 57% 41% 49%

Senior Secondary

Male Female Both

SS3 New Entrants 18,456 9,421 27,877

17 Yr Old Population (SSL + CSR Projection) 53,120 54,652 107,772

PCR 35% 17% 26%

XXIX Making Progress

Annex 18

Level Gross Intake and Gross Completion Rate Based Student Flow Pyramid

Note that the chart above does not show the breaks between the school levels and the fact that not all

that complete one level move on to the next i.e. the transition rate between the levels is not captured in

the chart

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

SSS PCR SSS GIR

JSS PCR JSS GIR

Prim PCR Prim GIR

XXX Making Progress

Annex 19

Enrolment Trends by School Level

Pre-Primary

Year Boys Girls Both % of Primary Enrolment

2003/04 9,906 9,162 19,068 2%

2004/05 10,794 9,838 20,632 2%

2005/06 8,619 9,528 18,147

2010/11 18,247 19,104 37,351 3%

Primary

Year Male Fem Both

% Change in Male Enrolment from Preceding Year

% Change in Fem Enrolment from Preceding Year

2000/01 369,631 264,489 634,120

2001/02 369,953 289,550 659,503 0.1% 9.5%

2002/03 545,109 444,227 989,336 47.3% 53.4%

2003/04 618,982 515,833 1,134,815 13.6% 16.1%

2004/05 698,387 582,466 1,280,853 12.8% 12.9%

2010/11(pre) 709,358 698,658 1,408,016 1.6% 19.9%

2010/11(post) 611,604 582,899 1,194,503 -12.4% 0.1%

Junior Secondary

Year Male Fem Both

% of Primary

Enrolment



2000/01 36,989 23,256 60,245 10%

2001/02 47,154 29,707 76,861 12% 27% 28%

2002/03 76,444 49,511 125,955 13% 62% 67%

2003/04 80,963 52,438 133,401 12% 6% 6%

2004/05 93,822 61,230 155,052 12% 16% 17%

2010/11 134,096 110,393 244,489 20% 43% 80%

Senior Secondary

Year Male Fem Both

% of Primary

Enrolment % of JSS

Enrolment



2000/01 12,806 10,123 22,929 4% 38%

2001/02 14,154 8,103 22,257 3% 29% 11% -20%

2002/03 24,825 11,361 36,186 4% 29% 75% 40%

2003/04 26,292 12,032 38,324 3% 29% 6% 6%

2004/05 28,541 16,383 44,924 4% 29% 9% 36%

2010/11 67,283 40,960 108,243 9% 44% 136% 150%

Documents

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