By Foday Moriba Conteh

During a well-attended ceremony, the Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law Sierra Leone (CARL-SL) has on Thursday 28th August, 2025 unveiled the results of its rigorous assessment of the Free Quality School Education (FQSE) Programme at the New Brookfields Hotel on New England Ville in Freetown. The event drew a diverse assembly of Government officials, development partners, Civil Society representatives, educators and media personnel.

The assessment fully funded and led by CARL-SL examined the effectiveness of the FQSE initiative which was launched in 2018 to remove financial barriers and promote equitable access to education through tuition subsidies, learning materials and school feeding programmes.

While acknowledging the Government’s considerable efforts to ensure every child’s access to quality education, the report revealed significant implementation gaps. It recommended that development partners, the Government and Civil Society enhance collaboration to address irregular subsidy payments, material shortages and inconsistencies that undermine educational outcomes.

Addressing the gathering, Jeremy Ben Simbo, Head of Programmes, Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law Sierra Leone (CARL-SL) emphasized the need for rigorous oversight to guarantee that every Leone spent on education brings tangible benefits to children and communities.

He said the assessment report is a scientific one that was done judiciously and not a witch hunt.

It is a sample assessment conducted in eight out of the sixteen districts of Sierra Leone, including hard to reach areas, with one hundred and twenty (120) schools targeted, fifteen schools per each districts.

The National Coordinator of the FQSE, Augustine Koroma, on behalf of the Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary School Education officially launched the report on the assessment findings on the FQSE Programme in Sierra Leone.

In his keynote speech, Augustine Koroma commended the report and thanked President Julius Maada Bio for launching the FQSE which he said reshaped the education system.

He highlighted the achievements and successes of the FQSE since it was launched in 2018, including the construction and rehabilitation of schools, recruitment of trained and qualified teachers, increase in enrollment, supply of schools materials and payment of subsidies.


He informed of the Billion old Leones paid by Government for the successful implementation of the FQSE.

Patrick Sandy, Director of Public Education and Outreach Department, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) also commended CARL for the bold initiative after a comparative study on the journey of the FQSE.

He explained the mandate of the ACC which is to ensure public resources are protected.  According to him, this is not first report by CARL on reflecting on accountability.

Patrick Sandy assured of taking the report very seriously maintaining how they will assess and examine the report and see where they can intervene. https://thecalabashnewspaper.com/carl-sl-releases-assessment-findings-on-fqse-programme-calls-for-stronger-accountability/