Sierra Leone

The Situation

The civil war that ended in 2002 has left a dreadful legacy. Sierra Leone is officially the worst place in the world for a child to be born. One in four children die before their fifth birthday. One in three children under five are moderately or severely underweight. And life expectancy is just 42.

Of the country's 5.7 million population, more than half are children and young people under 18. Many children have to work to help their families earn enough to get by. They miss out on education - one in three primary-aged children don't go to school. Even though enrolment rates are increasing, many children - often girls - end up dropping out.

 
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Our Target

To support the Sierra Leone Ministry of Education, Youth and sport to implement the Education Sector Plan and deliver and education system that is accountable and provides access to quality education in a protective environment for all children by 2010: 

• By 2010, 61,000 children in 120 schools of three districts in Sierra Leone will have benefited from quality education including increased participation and child centred learning, improved education management and access to adequate and relevant resources for learning
• We are working to incorporate child protection support systems into education policies and practices by national and district ed
  
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  ucation authorities
• Increase donor funding by 20 % to reduce the financing gap for basic education so that the government can maintain at least current levels of financing to education
  

How Sierra Leone measures up

• Over 50 % of teachers are untrained and unqualified
• Although primary education is free there are still an estimated 470,000 out of school children
• 240,000 children between 6 and 11 have never attended school
• The government currently allocates around 19% of its expenditure to education
  

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