An Examination of Primary School Attendance and Completion among Secondary School Age Adolescents in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone was ravaged by a civil war between 1991 and 2002. Since the end of the war, it has witnessed an unprecedented increase in school enrollments. Although school enrollment has increased, the number of school age children who are out of school remains high. The focus of international agencies is on children of primary school age, yet a large proportion of secondary school age adolescents are out of school. The problem is most serious in sub-Saharan Africa where about 38% of the lower secondary school age adolescents are out of school. This article examines the changing patterns of educational attendance and primary school completion of secondary school age adolescents in Sierra Leone. The study used data from three nationally representative household surveys: the 2000 Sierra Leone Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, the 2005 Sierra Leone Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey and the 2008 Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Survey. The results indicate that school attendance has increased. However, large gender, region of residence, rural/urban residence, and wealth differences in educational outcomes exist in Sierra Leone.