NACCED On The Spotlight…
Civic Education Under Threat
By Mohamed Konneh
Repealing or rescinding the National Council for Civic Education and Democracy (NACCED) Act will be a big blow on the government of President Julius Maada Bio’s administration. It will be an unwise decision on the part of government if this autonomous body is allowed to vanish after it was enacted in 2022 by an act of parliament.
The National Council for Civic Education and Democracy (NACCED) Act was enacted in 2022 out of the desire to provide civic education on the roles and responsibilities of citizens. It was also to bring about that duty of patriotism and nationalism to provide development communication to the people of Sierra Leone.
The agency comprises a team of technical experts who carry out the day to day running and also having the expertise on civic engagement throughout the country.
The Council shall be a body corporate having perpetual succession and capable of acquiring, holding and disposing of any property, whether movable or immovable, and of suing and being sued in its corporate name.
Like previous governments before the government of President Julius Maada Bio, the late President Ahmed Tejan Kabba established the National Social security and Insurance Trust, (NASSIT), the National Revenue Authority (NRA), The National Communication Authority (NatCA) and many more. Fast forward the government of former Ernest Bai Koroma enacted the National Mineral Agency (NMA) act and established it secretariat for the day to day running. All of these technical institutions enacted by previous government stand the test of time and continue to yield good fruit.
For example NASSIT, today, pensioners are happy with the scheme base on the fruit it is yielding. The same for NRA that is collecting revenue for government. The National Minerals Agency (NMA), the technical wing of the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources provides that leverage in the mining sector taking away the burden of issuing licenses from the ministry.
This was the same thought and thinking of President Julius Maada Bio when the NACCED Act was enacted and having the agency established. Since it was enacted in 2022 NACCED has provided this country the opportunity of that long lost civic education that was absent.
Civic education equips individuals with the tools they need to contribute to the development of their nation in meaningful ways. The skills and knowledge they gain through civic education can be used to engage in political discourse, support candidates and policies, and participate in civic activities.
Civic education is not just limited to participation in politics and society, it also encompasses participation in classrooms, neighborhoods, groups and organizations. In civics, students learn to contribute to public processes and discussions of real issues. Students can also learn civic practices such as voting, volunteering, jury service, and joining with others to improve society. Civics enables students not only to study how others participate, but also to practice participating and taking informed action themselves.
This makes the NACCED very important as it’s provide that technical expertise. The secretariat has done the development and production of Civic Education Curriculum for primary 1-6 and JSS 1-3 levels, the production of an abridged version of the Commission of Inquiry and Government White Paper recommendations and public education, Covid-19 preventive and precautionary measures, amongst many other external collaborations.
NACCED has also develop and provided civic education books that are now used in schools and by next academic year the University of Sierra Leone will have a stand-alone department purely on civic education.
This can only be achieve when you have an autonomous body separated from the supervisory ministry to undertake such venture. This important institution that was established by the government of Sierra Leone is among institutions established that continue to yield that vital result for which they were set up.
It will be a disservice to the people of this country if NACCED is subsumed and placed under the Ministry of Information and Civic Education as a department. There are no better ways civic education can strive if this autonomous body set up by an act of parliament is reduce to a mere department under the supervisory ministry. It also defeat the purpose for which the law was enacted after so much energy has been put into the work of that secretariat only to be reduced to department under the ministry. Civic education empowers the people to change the world around them for the better and this is only possible with a stand-alone entity that has the expertise to do so. The most regrettable thing to do is when this important establishment will be reduced to mere department under the ministry. Lonta.
