The Problems and Prospects of Mother Tongue Education in Sierra Leone: A Case Study in the Schools in the Kono District

This work is an investigation on the problems and prospects of the implementation of the government of Sierra Leone’s Mother Tongue Education Policy in Sierra Leone – a case study in the schools in Kono District. To meet the objectives of this work, questionnaires were administered to school heads and teachers in six selected secondary schools in the district. After the analysis of the data, it was discovered that not much success has been made because of the following problems: lack of trained teachers, inadequate learning materials and poor funding towards the implementation of the policy. Also, the heads of schools, teachers and pupils have a negative attitude towards this policy. They are of the view that the indigenous languages are inferior and not internationally recognized. These perceptions are major setbacks to the implementation of this policy. Recommendations were therefore made to do a thorough sensitization on the importance of Mother Tongue Education as every language could be used as a medium of education. Adequate training of teachers and the provision of teaching and learning materials is important for the success of this policy. The government also should increase funding towards the implementation of this policy.