Publication: Ensuring the Adequacy of Education Finance through Domestic Resource Mobilization: The Case of Sierra Leone
Date
2023-11-20
ISSN
Published
2023-11-20
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
Historically, education expenditure
in Sierra Leone has been insufficient to provide quality
education to all school-age children. Although real
government expenditure on education increased on average by
11 percent per year between 2008 and 2014, this increase was
barely adequate to keep up with rapidly expanding enrollment
figures, with the total number of students enrolled in
primary and secondary education rising from 709,875 to
1,809,563 between 2001 and 2015 (UNESCO Institute for
Statistics (UIS), 2023a; UIS, 2023b). In 2012, per-student
expenditure on primary education was 5.7 percent of gross
domestic product (GDP) per capita, compared to an average of
11.1 percent in sub-Saharan Africa (UIS, 2023c). The
education system in Sierra Leone is divided into pre-primary
education (three years, starting at age three), primary
education (six years, starting at age six), junior secondary
education (three years, starting at age 12), senior
secondary education, and higher education. Primary and
junior secondary education together comprise basic
education, which is compulsory for all children.
Transitioning from one level to another is typically based
on performance in national level examinations. Starting at
the secondary level, students can follow either a general
academic program or opt for one of the technical and
vocational education and training programs. There are three
categories of schools: (a) government schools that are
funded and managed by the government; (b)
government-assisted schools that receive financial
assistance from the government but are owned by
non-government organizations such as missions or a
community; and (c) private schools that are privately owned,
funded, and managed without financial assistance from the government.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2023. Ensuring the Adequacy of Education Finance through Domestic Resource Mobilization: The Case of Sierra Leone. Case Studies of Successful Reforms to Address the Challenges of Financing Education Systems Effectively; June 2023. © Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/40625 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”