Education remains a
problem in underdeveloped areas such as Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa.
The article “Sierra Leone News: Quality Education Remains Elusive” describes why
education in this area is poor. I read also that their literacy rates are very
low in this area with an overall percentage of 35 % for males and females. The article goes on to say how the media is
always trying to blame someone for the poor education in the area whether it be
the teachers, the Ministry of Education or the students themselves. The country has many other problems besides education,
like unhealthy drinking water. The
article explains how the school has a lack of teachers and the ones that are
there are unqualified and untrained. It also explained the importance of
teachers and nurses to their country a statement from the article that I felt
had great importance was this, “The unhealthy person is never productive, just
as an uneducated person will be very difficult to rule.” (Awoko). The statement
to me really states how desperately the country needs people in these
professions.
Another problem that
serves a great deal of trouble in the education system is the concept of
community teachers, this is where the teachers are assisted by members of the
community but do not get paid by the government. There are some teachers who
are note approved by the state and waiting for government approval which could
take several years, possibly not at all.
It is said that the communities that the children live in barely have
the money to pay the teachers, this results in the students making up for lack
of pay by doing chores for the teachers.
It is said that Ministry of Education is spending great amounts of time
trying to figure out the number of teachers and they cannot carry the burden of
a larger payroll. It’s also true that many schools are so poor that the
students have no place to sit and it is not out of the ordinary to see a child
carrying a chair and desk to school and on the other hand some schools are left
vacant. Other issues are that the urban areas have schools whereas the rural
areas don’t have many at all.
The
problems within the rural sectors of Sierra Leone is a continuous cycle until something
happens with the education system there. There are many flaws within how they
choose to educate the children in this country especially those in rural parts.
Social problems are certainly relevant in this country. First off a sign of bad education is literacy
rates we know the literacy rates are low, this is because many aren’t attending
school or the teachers just aren’t qualified. The article mentioned how
community members are helping to educate the children, if the literacy rate is
incredibly low how well do you think the members of community can teach the
children? The ministry of Education is also creating social problems because
they can’t afford to pay the teachers, this does not give those teaching incentive
to continue working their jobs. The teachers who are qualified are going to quit
because of little to no pay. Also the country really needs educators and those
who are able to teach. I believe the only way is to receive some help is
through funding to pay the teachers who are qualified to come in and teach. The
country needs people who want to be educated to be nurses and teachers but they
won’t reach this goal without an education. The country will stay in this state
until something big happens with the Ministry of Education and outside funding.
The country will stay poor until education and health are implemented within
the community properly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_literacy_rate
Name: Sarah Vestrat
Date: 10/18/2013
Time: 1:36 AM
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