What has been going on in the Looking Town Schools in 2013-14?

I have just had a report from our Programme Director, Alpha Kargbo, setting out the highlights of the academic year 2013-14.

The Primary School is now recognised by both the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Freetown City Council.  They have 567 pupils from nursery up to class 6. The school meets from 8.30 am until 1.00 pm.

The Junior Secondary School uses the same premises from 1.30 pm to 5.30 pm. They have 193 students, giving a total number for the two schools of 760 children receiving education that we support from Derby.

Primary children on the steps of the school

Teachers

The Primary have ten teachers, three of whom are approved and paid for by the government. Another six have applications for approval with the Ministry of Education. This is taking some time as there is a large backlog of applications and the government are going through the Secondary and Vocational Schools before they start on the Primary sector. The state pays a teacher around £81.50 a month.

The Secondary School is approved by the Freetown Council but not yet by the government so its teachers are not eligible for state support. There are 13 teachers, many part-time.

For the period August 2013 to June 2014 we sent £7197 from PIP to pay teachers salaries and also contribute to the National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT). This was set up in 2001 to administer Sierra Leone’s National Pension scheme which provides retirement and other benefits to meet the contingency needs of workers and their dependents. The school is required to pay £4.14 per teacher per month, 

Membership is mandatory for all workers with an employer-employee relationship. It is mandatory for all employers to ensure that their workers are registered with the scheme.

Orphans

Across the two schools there are 40 orphan children. We do not have residential care for them and they stay with extended family. In a very poor area, such as Looking Town where the school is situated, an extra child can be regarded as an imposition and suffer hardship and rejection.

The school helps with free tuition, exercise and text books, pens and other educational materials so they feel like other children in the school. Alpha says, "The teachers are very instrumental in helping them and provide real Christian love and care for them."

Alimony was six when this photo was taken.  Zainab was thirteen. Both of them have lost both their parents.

Alpha would like us to provide a contribution of £42 a year for an orphan in the primary school and £141 in the secondary. We are not taking this on board at the present time. This is one of the things we will talk about when he visits us. Rachel Hoyle, who has worked at New Hope Uganda, has agreed to give some input on orphan care.

Sports Day

One of the great days in the school social calendar. Along with Thanksgiving Day, Day of the African Child (16 June every year: Commemorating children killed protesting in Soweto in 1976.) and Christmas.

Children ready for Sports day.

Sorts Day this year was on the 23rd March  The results for the houses were

1st     Yellow    Alpha House                223  Points
2nd     Blue       Brain House                 218 points
3rd     Red        Swindale House           216 points
4th     Green      Miezgal House             202 points

Exams

70 pupils sat the National Primary School Examination on 3rd May, which enables them to move to a Junior Secondary School in September 2014. Results not yet out.

24 candidates are due to take the Basic Entrance Certificate Examination, which allows them to move to a Senior Secondary or a vocational school.