Between 6 and 10 October 2025, the Public Education and Outreach Unit of the Anti-Corruption Commission’s North-West office preached integrity messages to teachers and pupils of Maforki Agricultural Islamic, Free Pentecostal Academy, and Johanna Kuyvanhoven Model Secondary schools in Port Loko during successive Meet-the-School campaigns.
Informed by the principle of ‘catching them young’, Meet-the-School Campaign is ACC’s strategy to instill values such as integrity, hard work, transparency, and accountability in pupils. While they are still teens, the pupils need support to acquire acceptable conduct that would help them progress in school and prepare for future leadership.
In her statements during the interactive engagements, the Commission’s North-West Regional Director Zainab Othman urged the teachers to commit to professional ethics and support the pupils to develop their potentials. She underscored the role of the school in shaping the behaviour and attitude of pupils, and assured the schools that the ACC would always support them to fight against corruption.
The Director also stressed that integrity should be the cornerstone of every public body including learning institutions. She said, “Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching you. It is a decision you take to refrain from doing anything that would negatively affect the effective running of your school and, by extension, the country.” Madam Othman urged the teachers and pupils to uphold integrity as its absence, she warned, would open the door of abuse and moral decline.
She sternly warned the schools to abstain from examination malpractice, sex for grades, bribery, extortion, absenteeism, truancy, and awkward dressing. According to her, these improper conducts undermine learning goals and distort pupils’ potentials.
Admonishing the teachers to handle pupils professionally, Madam Othman remarked that passing public examinations in flying colours is not the only thing that matters, as the moral development of pupils is also an important consideration to make education worthwhile. “The pupils should be taught to think critical and behave well as part of shaping their personality,” she said.
Senior Public Education Officer, Samuel Junisa Sankoh, and Public Education Officer, Mohamed Thullah, also made salient contributions during the campaigns. They explained, in turn, some corruption offences in the Anti-Corruption Act of 2008 (amended 2019): Offering, Soliciting and Accepting Advantage, Abuse of Office and Position, Misappropriation of Public Funds and Property, Misappropriation of Donor Funds and Property, Failure to Declare Assets, Academic Malpractice, and Acquisition of Unexplained Wealth amongst others.
They disclosed that anyone guilty of each of the offences mentioned shall be liable to a minimum fine of Le 50,000 or a minimum prison term of five years, upon conviction. The convict may pay the fine and serve the prison term at the same time.
The teachers and pupils were urged to report corruption to the ACC in person under anonymity, or write a letter to ACC's Regional Offices or Headquarters, or call the following toll-free lines: 077 985 985 or 077 986 986 or 8515 for all mobile networks.