August 7, 2014 By Victoria Saffa
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology yesterday, 6 August launched the Revitalising Education Development in Sierra Leone (REDISL) project which contains four components – improving the learning environment and opportunities in targeted areas, strengthening education service delivery, project management and supervision and support the implementation of the Ebola response.
At the formal launch at the Sierra Leone Bank Complex, Minister of Education Science and Technology, Dr. Minkailu Bah said the REDISL project was a product of commendable collaboration between the government of Sierra Leone and its partners, adding that work on the project started some four years ago with the government providing funds for the conduct of a schools census and drafting of an analytical report informed by data from that census.
Dr. Bah said the schools census report informed a detailed diagnostic study of school level education in Sierra Leone, funded largely by partners, while the drafting of a cost strategy plan for education was funded by the government and partners.
The education minister said the new education strategy was formulated from an initial draft with inputs from nationwide consultations, endorsed by partners in education and approved by the government, adding that it informs the education section of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Plan (PRSP) 3, the ‘Agenda for Prosperity’ as well as the REDISL project areas of focus.
“The components and sub-components of the REDISL project have already been presented, but I wish to express that as a ministry we will work hard to achieve the aspiration of the project which I believe will see us overcome the adversity imposed on us by Ebola and eventually attain new heights in the education sector,” said Dr. Bah.
He said the advent of Ebola made matters more challenging even with support from partners, noting that the minister intends to strengthen partnership which had been the backbone of the education sector in the past years.
Giving an overview of the REDISL project, different component team leaders from the ministry gave details about the project.
The project is supported by the Global Partnership for Education, Dfid, World Bank and UNICEF.