One of the videos in social media shows how one of the teachers arrested in Saturday’s raid by ACC at a private residence where examination malpractice was carried out, had to seek refuge in a deep freezer. Can you imagine? Such is a behavior of a common criminal; and not reflective of the noble Teaching profession.
Teaching is meant to be a noble profession; but such criminal acts by some teachers of nowadays have thrown the integrity of the profession to the dogs. Are these the types of people that we want to continue to protect as a nation under the guise of protecting their fundamental human rights? We are sitting on a time bomb. The future of our country is at stake if we do not wage a WAR against these rascals. Examination malpractice is the biggest threat facing our country. Desperate situations require desperate measures.
We want to see a situation where minors caught are given 12 lashes by the Police as corporal punishment. And parents being prosecuted and sentenced for a week. Sierra Leone must change for good and that change is now.
Let us support the young ACC Boss and his team to save the future of our educational sector, and in the process reclaim the lost glory of the once noble teaching profession. I still clearly believe that we have majority of teachers who are committed to integrity and discipline; but the actions of a few of their unscrupulous colleagues are painting a negative picture of them all. That is why it’s very prudent for the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) to join hands with the ACC to go after these criminals that have invaded the teaching profession; and not see the ACC as opponents.
I still hold on to the view that the actions of the ACC were not intended to embarrass teachers, but to weed out the few criminals in the profession who want to transform the teaching field into a money-making enterprise. The earlier the public and other teachers, who are genuinely in the profession to pass on knowledge, realize this, the better for us all.
Parents should also note that, teachers play an important role in shaping the future of their children when in their care. Do you really want your children to be taught, mentored and prepared for the future by such individuals as we see in the above video?
Free Quality Education is the trump card of the New Direction Agenda of President Bio administration. Such criminal actions by some teachers– who are supposed to be the moral guarantors of the Free and Quality Education Initiative– will only lead to the perpetual failure of the initiative. It behooves the government too, to give all the necessary support to the ACC– both moral and resource wise– to make integrity and discipline the heart of the initiative.
As a nation, I implore us all to resolve to take tougher actions in addressing this anomaly. Instead of deflating the morale of the ACC, we should be encouraging them further to do more in saving the future of education; restoring the integrity of the teaching; and preventing the President’s Free Quality Education initiative from becoming a failure.