An Education Sector Support Fund (ESSF) was established in 2008 to pool resources for basic education. It is a special pooled account that is managed by the MEST with oversight by the MOFED: Its objectives are to: a. b. c. 383. Expand access Improve quality Enhance sector coordination and management The improvement of access to and the quality of education is a priority for the GoSL and it accordingly has allocated significant percentage of its annual 2014 budget to education. In 2014, a total amount of Le 168,9 billion has been allocated to the MEST which includes:  Le 29,4 billion in grants to tertiary education institutions; 10,5 billion for subsidies for university students  Le 5,7 billion for WASCE examination fees (to benefit 42,600 students)  Le 7,5 billion for the Girl Child Programme (to benefit 132,000 girls)  Transfers of Le 29,1 billion to local councils for payment of exam fees for the NPSE to benefit 94,000 pupils (Le 3,3 billion); Le 10,2 billion for school fee subsidies; Le 1,2 billion for teaching and learning materials; Le 4,2 billion for exam fees for BECE; Le 650 million for science equipment; Le 1,7 billion for primary and Le 1,5 billion for secondary text books  Le 1,5 billion for Government Libraries  Le 2,5 billion for educational development (Minister of Finance and Economic Development, 2013).  Le 384. The poor state of the education system at the beginning of the millennium meant that statistics were not routinely collected thus making it difficult to provide an accurate picture of the state of education at the time of ratification of the ACRWC. Based on available data, the preceding developments yielded positive access, retention and completion returns, as well as reduced inequities in educational opportunities for marginalized children:  Pre-primary enrolment rates increased from 4 percent in 2004 to 8.4 percent in 2011 (MEST, 2014)  Primary enrolments doubled between 2000/01 from just over 600,000 to almost 1,2 million in 2010/11 (largely as a result of the fee free primary education policy in 2002/3)  Enrolments at JSS have increased four-fold from 60,000 to more than 108,000  At SSS level enrolments have increased from 23,000 to 108,000 over the decade in question  Primary completion rates increased from 55 percent in 2004 to 73 percent in 2011  Primary pupil: teacher ratios dropped from 61 to 31 between 2004 and 2011  The percentage of children transitioning from primary to JSS increased from 72 percent to 77 percent  The transition rate from JSS to SSS increased from 14 percent to 50 percent  Repetition rates at SSS level dropped from 11 percent to 5 percent  The SSS completion rate increased from 4 percent to 30 percent. 98  Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone Initial Report on the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 2002-2014