By Beny Sam
Despite the strides made through the government’s Free Quality School Education (FQSE) initiative, an underground economy has emerged within Sierra Leone’s school system—one driven by parents and school authorities who, knowingly or unknowingly, undermine the very essence of free education.
While the FQSE aims to eliminate financial barriers and promote inclusivity, many schools, particularly those not owned by the government, have found ways to extract money from parents. These include informal fees, classroom contributions, exam charges, and even “voluntary” donations masked as competitions or events. Parents, desperate to ensure their children succeed, often comply, creating a culture where monetary influence can determine a child’s academic progress.
With only 9% of schools directly owned by the government, and the majority controlled by religious or private organisations, oversight remains weak. In many rural areas, underqualified or unpaid “community teachers” step in due to staffing shortages. Here, payments are often made in kind, including labour from pupils.
PTAs and CTAs, once created to support schools, have increasingly become conduits for extra financial demands. Extravagant lunch expectations, grade-influencing gifts, and costly non-academic activities like kindergarten field trips have become common. In some cases, teachers expect rewards for favorable grades, and students are compelled to buy special notebooks for exams.
Even as the government supplies textbooks, pays fees, and covers teacher salaries, these informal practices persist—driven by delayed subsidies and limited oversight. School inspectors, though equipped with vehicles, rarely reach remote areas. The result is a system where wealthier parents buy their children better access and treatment, while poorer families are left behind.
This informal monetization not only defeats the purpose of the FQSE but also deepens inequality and breeds corruption. Parents end up paying more under the guise of free education, with little assurance that their contributions benefit the schools or their children.
If Sierra Leone is to achieve truly inclusive and equitable education, these unofficial practices must be addressed. Education should empower—not impoverish—families.
