Freetown, 6th February 2026– Fourah Bay College (FBC), the oldest university in West Africa, has signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Sierra Leone Correctional Service (SLCS), opening a new chapter in community-focused education and rehabilitation.
The agreement, formalized at FBC’s Mount Aureol campus, will see the university deliver certificate courses directly inside correctional facilities in Freetown, an initiative designed to give inmates and correctional officers access to functional, practical education.
The partnership, driven by FBC’s Division of Extra-Mural Studies, will begin with six-month certificate programmes taught by FBC facilitators within dedicated lecture spaces provided by SLCS. The initial courses include: Sports Administration and Management, Social Work, Adult Education and Community Development Studies, Entrepreneurship Studies, Youth in Development Work, Sociology of Crimes
Officials say the initiative is not just about academics, but about equipping participants, especially inmates, with skills for self-reliance, employability, and responsible citizenship upon reintegration into society.
At the signing ceremony, senior representatives from both institutions underscored the significance of the partnership.
Mrs. Elizabeth Kamara, Assistant Deputy Vice-Chancellor II of FBC, joined Deputy Registrar Mr. Brima Bah and Acting Head of Extra-Mural Studies Mr. Augustine Garmoh in welcoming the agreement. From the Correctional Service, Mr. Lamin Bangura, Director of Policy, Planning & Legal Services, emphasized that the collaboration represents more than education; it is a vital investment in human dignity, second chances, and national progress.
Both signatories pledged to ensure the swift rollout of the programme, with classes expected to begin soon. The initiative is seen as a milestone in Sierra Leone’s efforts to align higher education with community service, while supporting the Correctional Service’s mission of reform and rehabilitation.
By bringing classrooms into correctional centres, Fourah Bay College and the Sierra Leone Correctional Service are rewriting the narrative of incarceration, transforming prisons into spaces of learning, hope, and opportunity.
