The role of non‐governmental organisations and faith‐based organisations in achieving Education for All: the case of Sierra Leone

Abstract

Sierra Leone, one of the world's poorest countries, experienced a civil war from 1991 to 2002. The government's capacity to provide educational services remains weak, and still over 30% of children in the country are hard to reach and do not have access to primary education. This paper discusses the role of non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) and faith‐based organisations (FBOs) in the provision of primary education by supplementing governmental efforts. Through the exploration of forms of services delivered by NGOs and FBOs, this paper argues that the collaborating work among the government, NGOs, and FBOs has made progress towards achieving Education for All (EFA) in Sierra Leone. This study is based on the author's field research, which involved observation of schools, interviews with teachers, government officials, and those engaged in NGOs and FBOs, and questionnaires completed by pupils, parents, and teachers.

Keywords:

• Education for All
• non‐governmental organisations
• faith‐based organisations
• Sierra Leone

Notes

1. It is worth clarifying that the first Christian school in Sierra Leone was started by the black immigrants from Nova Scotia in 1792. The Nova Scotians were ex‐slaves who had fought under the British flag in the American War of Independence and were freed in Sierra Leone (Kaplan et al. 1976).