2023 Education Act: What Every Parent and Teacher Should Know

Sierra Leone's Basic and Senior Secondary Education Act, 2023, is not a cosmetic rewrite. It replaces much of the Education Act, 2004 and recasts basic and senior secondary schooling as a duty of the State, a right of the child, and a shared responsibility among the Ministry, local councils, schools, parents and communities. For a parent or a teacher, the law matters for three concrete reasons: it changes who governs schools and how (governance), it expands the rights and protections of learners (inclusion, safety and discipline), and it sets new duties and standards for teachers, schools and parents (certification, reporting, and data). Below we explain the essentials you need to know, cite the exact provisions that will matter in disputes or complaints, and show what the national data says about whether the law's ambitions are likely to be met.

1. Governance and accountability: who decides what, and where to hold them to account

The Act creates a stronger national structure and shifts responsibility to multiple levels, while preserving avenues for local participation. Section 9 establishes a statutory National Board of Education with explicit functions to set policy and standards; the Minister retains operational control but must act within the Act's mandates. The Act also sets out a two-tier governance model (community and school levels) — the Board of Governors for senior schools and School Management Committees / Community Teachers Associations for basic schools — and prescribes membership, tenures and appeals procedures (see Parts III and VI, especially sections 9, 42–56, and 49). The practical effect is that complaints about standards, teacher conduct or school closure should be routed first to the school-level structures and, if unresolved, to the Board/Ministry according to the procedures in the Act. These are statutory remedies now, not mere policy options.

Two observations follow the governance clauses. First, the Act places legal duties on the Ministry to maintain schools and to supervise (section 2 and related provisions). Second, the Act formalises the role of local councils (section 68) and sets duties for Education Committees, which is important because service delivery and school maintenance have historically depended on local coordination — a key locus for parents to press for action. Put plainly: when a school lacks textbooks, teachers, sanitation, or safety, the Act gives a path to hold both the school's governing body and the Ministry/local council to account.

2. Rights, inclusion and safety — what parents must know about learners' protection

The 2023 Act is explicit about inclusion. Section 19 (titled "Radical inclusion") requires schools — including private providers — to be disability-friendly and to allow pregnant girls, parent-learners, and children from the poorest homes to enroll and remain in school. Section 22 makes one year of pre-school (age five) free and compulsory, and section 23 prescribes registration and minimum staffing standards for pre-primary providers. These are not aspirational: they are statutory entitlements that a parent can assert.

On safety and discipline, the Act moves decisively. The Act defines "corporal punishment" and then prohibits it in the school environment. The law prohibits staff and any person from inflicting or threatening corporal punishment on children and promotes alternative, positive disciplinary methods (see the provisions in Part IX, especially the section on corporal punishment and pupil-on-pupil violence). That change removes the old, ambiguous space in which physical punishment could be justified as disciplinary — and it gives parents and teachers a legal basis to challenge abusive practices. Independent child-safety provisions are reinforced by explicit "zero tolerance" clauses against harassment and by mandatory measures for emergencies and outbreaks (Parts IX and XV).

3. What teachers and school leaders must know: certification, conduct and curriculum

Teachers should read the Act as a statute that professionalises the role. Section 58 addresses certificate and license for teachers, aligning qualifications with the Sierra Leone Teaching Service Commission and requiring in-service training and recognised qualifications for pre-primary teachers (sections 22(3) and 58). The Act also tightens rules on appointments, transfers, and promotions and gives the Ministry and the Teaching Service Commission explicit roles in staffing decisions (Part VI). For the teacher who cares about career stability, that creates both procedural protections and obligations; for the parent it means you may expect minimum qualifications and a recognised licensing regime for classroom staff.

The Act also prescribes quality assurance mechanisms: curriculum development and review (section 83), monitoring and supervision (section 81) and national examinations (sections 26, 28, 31). Importantly, section 84 confirms that English is the medium of instruction, which has implications for classroom materials and language policy at local level. These sections matter in disputes over unfair assessment or language of instruction — they are the legal standard against which schools' practices should be measured.

4. Implementation realities: the law is necessary but not, on its own, sufficient

The Act is ambitious in scope, but the data show the implementation challenge is substantial. Government reporting and international data indicate that enrolment and completion have improved in recent years, but gaps remain at secondary level, and persistent issues such as teacher shortages, infrastructure deficits and financing uncertainty complicate full roll-out.

Sierra Leone's Annual School Census (the Ministry's 2022 report and draft 2023/2024 census follow-ups) provides the empirical baseline the Act will use through the Education Management Information System (EMIS) provisions (sections 94–95). That census documents the number of schools, pupil enrolments, teacher distributions and facility gaps — the very indicators the Act mandates the Ministry to track. World Bank and UNESCO statistics show a high primary completion rate (for recent years the primary completion rate approached very high percentages reported by UNESCO/World Bank), whereas completion and retention at lower secondary and upper secondary are weaker. School finance has also been variable: public education spending fluctuated (evidence shows spending fell from prior peaks), and budget execution remains an area requiring improvement if the Act's free-education promises are to be credible. If the law is the framework, the EMIS plus disciplined budget execution are the operational keys.

How to test the State's delivery against the Act (a working checklist in words)

When a parent or teacher wants to know if the State is honouring the Act, do not ask for miracles — ask for measurable things the Act requires: registered school status; proof of teacher certification or licences; minutes from Board/School Management Committee meetings; the school's inclusion arrangements for pregnant girls or learners with special needs; EMIS data for enrolment and attendance; and records of disciplinary incidents showing alternative discipline methods in use. Each of those items maps to a specific part of the Act (registration and approval provisions in Part VII, teacher certification in section 58, inclusion in section 19, EMIS in Part XVI, and discipline in Part IX).

Summary

The 2023 Act frames basic and senior secondary education as a right rooted in inclusion, safety, and professionalism. Parents should know that the Act gives them statutory standing: children cannot lawfully be turned away for pregnancy or poverty; corporal punishment is unlawful, and pre-school for five-year-olds is a free compulsory year. Teachers should know the Act raises professional standards: certification, licensing and continuing training are legal expectations, and the law prescribes quality assurance mechanisms they must engage with. At the same time, the Act transfers part of the burden onto citizens: diligent oversight at school-level governing bodies, active engagement with local councils, and the use of the Act's complaint and appeal routes when standards fall short. In short: the law strengthens rights and clarifies obligations — but citizens and professionals must use the Act to make those rights real.

Q & A Explainer (short, practical)

Q: My child was paddled at school. What section do I cite?

A: The Act defines and prohibits corporal punishment in the school environment (see the sections in Part IX addressing corporal punishment and pupil-on-pupil violence). Use those provisions when lodging a complaint with the school or the Board of Governors, and, if unresolved, escalate to the Ministry and the National Board. Keep written notes (date, teacher's name, witnesses) and request the school's disciplinary policy in writing.

Q: The school says my daughter cannot return because she is pregnant. Is that lawful?

A: No. Section 19 requires schools to allow pregnant girls and parent-learners to access, stay in, and complete school. If a school refuses, document the refusal, raise it with the School Management Committee or Board of Governors, and then with the Ministry following the Act's grievance routes.

Q: My child's teacher lacks qualifications — can I demand proof?

A: Yes. Section 58 and related provisions set out certification and licensing requirements for teachers. Ask the school for the teacher's certificate/licence and the school's registration status; if the teacher is unlicensed, that is a compliance issue you can raise with the Board and the Ministry.

Q: The school claims fees are necessary because the law did not abolish all charges. Is that correct?

A: The Act establishes a "Free Quality School Education" programme (definition and supporting provisions). In practice, the Act contemplates that the Government will bear tuition and many learning costs, but the law also has provisions on private and government-assisted schools and criteria for financial assistance (Part VII). Where fees are charged, parents should ask for an approved fee schedule and the legal authority (or policy) under which fees are collected — unlawful or hidden fees can be challenged through the school governance channels established by the Act.

Final practical advice from a former adjudicator's perspective

You have legal remedies that are clearer than they were under the 2004 framework. Use the statutory structure: start at the school level, take contemporaneous written records, cite the exact sections (e.g., inclusion provisions in section 19; teacher certification in section 58; EMIS obligations in sections 94–95; the prohibition on corporal punishment in Part IX), and if a local remedy is exhausted, the National Board and the Ministry have statutory duties to respond. Keep the pressure factual, procedural and public — the Act's success will depend less on rhetoric and more on consistent documentation and civic oversight.

BIBLIOGRAPHIES

1. The Basic and Senior Secondary Education Act, 2023 (official PDF, Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education). (Full text and section numbering referenced throughout). (mbsse.gov.sl)
2. Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education — Annual School Census Report (2022) and draft reports for 2023–2024 (data on enrolment, facilities and staffing). (mbsse.gov.sl)
3. UNESCO / IICBA country brief and World Bank education indicators for Sierra Leone (completion and enrolment statistics referenced in the implementation section). (iicba.unesco.org)
4. Analysis and commentary on the Act's child-protection provisions (e.g., End Corporal Punishment and other NGO summaries noting the Act's ban on corporal punishment). (End Corporal Punishment)
5. Government analysis of education financing (Benefit Incidence Analysis and budget commentary) for context on fiscal challenges. (Ministry of Finance)