Government Signs MoU With J-PAL Africa on Education Reform

In a major step toward strengthening data-driven governance in the education sector, the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with J-PAL Africa to institutionalise evidence-based decision-making in education policy.

The partnership is aimed at ensuring that public education spending translates into measurable improvements in learning outcomes for children across Sierra Leone.

J-PAL Africa, a regional arm of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, is globally recognised for its use of randomized evaluations and scientific research to address poverty and improve public policy.

Through this collaboration, the organisation will support Sierra Leone’s shift from traditional policy design approaches toward a more rigorous, data-driven system.

According to officials from the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, the collaboration will focus on four key pillars:

• Optimising school subsidies: Reviewing and restructuring the existing school subsidy programme to improve student performance and classroom outcomes.

• Strategic planning: Integrating evidence-based research into the development of Sierra Leone’s upcoming Education Sector Plan.

• Capacity building: Training ministry staff in advanced data collection, analysis, and monitoring systems to improve policy implementation.

• Sustainability: Embedding data-driven practices within government systems to ensure long-term institutional impact and knowledge transfer.

The agreement reflects a growing continental shift toward the use of empirical evidence in public policy formulation, particularly in the education sector.

For Sierra Leone, the partnership marks a significant milestone in efforts to maximise the impact of educational investments and improve learning outcomes nationwide, while positioning the country within a broader global movement toward research-based governance.