By Saidu Jalloh, D.S. Reporter
Teachers who fail to report to their assigned schools for six consecutive terms face removal from the government payroll, the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education has announced.
Minister Conrad Sackey made the disclosure on Wednesday during a special edition of the Civic Town Hall on the theme: “How Do We Address the Threats to Quality Education in Sierra Leone?”
To enforce the policy, the Ministry is rolling out a new digital attendance monitoring system called “We Day Ya.” The system uses fingerprints, GPS and tablets to record teacher attendance in real time.
According to Minister Sackey, “We Day Ya” will allow the Ministry and the Teaching Service Commission to track whether teachers are physically present at their assigned schools.
The system captures both the location and time of each registration, making it possible to detect attempts to sign in from outside the school.
“If you do that outside of the school, they will see where you do it and at what time,” Sackey said.
He said the initiative is aimed at eliminating ghost teachers and reducing manipulation of attendance records, which have undermined service delivery in the education sector.
The Minister stressed that removal from the payroll will not be automatic. A disciplinary panel will be set up, with the participation of the teachers’ union, to review cases of prolonged absence.
“If you are absent for six consecutive terms without setting up a panel where the union itself is part of, we are going to say we will take you off the payroll,” he stated.
The move forms part of broader government efforts to improve accountability, strengthen quality education, and ensure value for money in the public payroll.
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