The Government of Sierra Leone hosted the first-ever Foundational Learning Exchange which gathered ministers from several African countries and over 80 foreign partners/donors on commitments and actions for system change at the Freetown International Conference Centre on the 6th- 7th February 2023.

This is the second major international and inter-ministerial summit hosted by the Government of Sierra Leone and the Ministry of Education.

The Freetown Manifesto was developed in the gender-transformative leadership workshop that brought together ministers and senior government officials from 13 African countries.

On the final day of the first Foundational Learning Exchange (FLEX) discussions and presentation of possible solutions to various areas of foundational learning were given and a successful signing off of a ministerial communiqué.

The Ministers from Cote d’Ivoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria and Rwanda committed to seven key items in improving the learning systems cut across the countries present.

The key commitments made by the ministers at the leadership workshop are to, create and finance realistic plans aligned with the respective Education Sector plans and policies.

These policies are put in place to monitor the progress of the learners and the education systems toward SDG-4 benchmarks and Foundational Learning Indicators from TES, ensure equitable distribution of resources at all levels of our education system including pre-primary and primary levels that enable them to reach their foundational learning and other educational goals.

The Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) David Monina Sengeh confirmed their commitment to assure that there is a positive facelift in the education system within various countries respectively.

‘’We remain committed and optimistic about system transformation in our classrooms and schools’’ he said.

Below is a copy of the full communiqué: