Education in Sierra Leone

Education in Sierra Leone is legally required for all children for six years at primary level and three years in junior secondary education,^[1] but a shortage of schools and teachers has made implementation impossible.^[2] The Sierra Leone Civil War resulted in the destruction of 1,270 primary schools and in 2001 67 percent of all school-age children were out of school.^[2] The situation has improved considerably since then with primary school enrollment doubling between 2001 and 2005 and the reconstruction of many schools since the end of the war.^[3] However, there is still a long ways to go. In 2004, Junior secondary school enrollment was only 17% of primary school enrollment, and senior secondary school enrollment was only 8% of primary school education.^[4]

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI)^[5] finds that Sierra Leone is fulfilling only 84.3% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to education based on the country's level of income.^[6] HRMI breaks down the right to education by looking at the rights to both primary education and secondary education. While taking into consideration Sierra Leone's income level, the nation is achieving 100.0% of what should be possible based on its resources (income) for primary education but only 68.6% for secondary education.^[6]