State of Education in sierra Leone
Sierra Leone’s 1.9 million young children are packed into just 4,398 primary schools.
The devastating Sierra Leone Civil War (1991 – 2002) wiped out 1,270 primary schools and had 67 percent of all school-aged children out of school in the year 2001. Since then, Sierra Leone has recovered considerably, but still continues to face significant challenges. Sierra Leone’s education system struggles with more than 40 percent untrained primary school teachers and a shortage of learning materials.
Population: 7.8 million
Number of early grade children: 1.9 million
Primary school completion rate (%): 24%
Literacy rate for 15 years and older: 43%
Pupil/Teacher ratio in last grade of primary: 37:1