3 Reasons why the new 6–3–4–4 education system may not work in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone has recently added an extra year to the secondary school education of system from 2013. The main cause of this is the very unsatisfactory performance of Sierra Leonean students in the West African Examinations Council senior secondary examinations. Extending the school year means that students in Sierra Leone spend:

• 6 years in primary school
• 3 years in junior secondary school
• 4 years in senior secondary school
• 4 years in tertiary education

The reasons advanced for this extension of the school year are: it will boost performance and give students more contact time with their teachers by increasing the school day from 4 to 7 hours. The main problems I see with this change are:

1. Increasing contact time will not necessarily lead to better results as there will not be a corresponding increase in teaching resources.
2. Keeping the same number of subjects will have a similar effect on the results. There are too many subjects studied at senior secondary level and this is one of the main reasons for poor performance, not the length of time these subjects are studied.
3. Finally, many students in senior secondary are now at an even higher risk of wasting 4 years of their lives as opposed to 3, if they do not pass the final exams.

Alternative maths for Wassce

The 6–3–2–2–4 System

I would urge the government to update the new system to a 6–3–2–2–4 system of education. This system should have the following components:

Level
Length/years
Curriculum
Exits


Primary
6
Reading, Writing, Arithmetic
to Junior Secondary


Junior Secondary
3
Maths, English, IT, Reasoning, Civic Education
to Middle School or Vocational


Middle School
2
Maths, English, IT, Science or Art or Commercial
Apprentice, Vocational, Employment


Senior School
2
Only 4 Subjects, Some Specialisation
University, Work, Vocational


University
4
Even more specialism
Work, Self Employment

Proposed 6–3–2–3–4 System for Sierra Leone

Wilfred Wright is a skills development professional with a special interest in vocational training and the use of technology in education.