Performance Audit Report on Secondary Schools 2009 tabled

March 2010/Freetown: In its bid to expand the scope of its external audit, the Audit Service Sierra Leone has on Tuesday, 16th March 2010 tabled before parliament its pilot 1 Performance Audit report on the Inspection and Supervision of Secondary Schools.The main motive of the performance audit was to assess the reasons for the poor performance of candidates at the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in June 2008.The audit focused on finding the answers to each one of the following four audit questions: Is the Ministry of Education Youth and Sports managing its inspection activities in an efficient way? Have adequate working methods been established and implemented by the Inspectorate? Has inspection of Basic Education been devolved successfully and have local councils taken up their responsibilities? How efficient is supervision in the schools?The general conclusion of the findings is that Inspection and Supervision of Schools have not been effective; the poorer the quality of teaching and learning, the poorer the results must be expected for external examinations.

The report recommends that the Ministry of Education, Youths and Sports should formulate clear policies, goals and objectives for the Inspectorate linked to the vision and mission of the Ministry as a whole. A Strategic Plan on how to reach these goals needs to be developed in order to secure a more efficient utilisation of resources.