ment continues to open up and provide educational opportunities for children and youth groups in the country through the following initiatives: • The 2004 Education Act clearly stipulates that basic education is compulsory for all children. Sensitization is continuously done in all districts by the Deputy District Directors of Education on the significance of basic education for all citizens. • The Institute of Public Administration and Management, a constituent college of the University of Sierra Leone, conducts short courses on entrepreneurship for workers in the private sector. • Government has now established a Ministry of Youth to reinforce and strengthen the activities of the National Youth Commission. The National Youth Policy is currently being revised. OBJECTIVE 9: Promoting and protecting the rights of vulnerable Groups including Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees 3.25 Extending Grants in aid to vulnerable groups- A critical success of the policy is the current provision by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) of extending the Grants-in-Aid award to all disabled students who have gained admission to tertiary institutions in the country. In essence the MEST, MYES and NAYCOM are collaborating effectively to ensure that there is a general education system in the country where children are not excluded on the basis of disability. 3.26 Development of Appropriate policies and mechanisms for the protection of vulnerable- There is already a legal framework aimed at promoting and protecting the rights of disables persons- the Disability Act, 2011. It sets out to prohibit discrimination against PWD, to enhance equalization 34 of opportunities, to establish the National Commission for Persons with Disability and to achieve other related matters-education, health, employment, transport etc. This legal framework provides the conducive atmosphere for the participation of PWDs in all spheres of national development and by extension the availability of opportunities to engage in income generating activities through the required skills and micro-finance given them. It must be noted that there is no legal framework for elderly persons though support is being provided to them by the Ministry. Worth noting also is the fact that the Ministry has relocated the elderly to Grafton. St. Georges’ Foundation, Freetown Established in 2005, St George has rescued over 700 children from the streets of Freetown. The project takes the children through a transition programme, tracing their families wherever possible getting them into school and helping them to become children again. The Scouts provided land for the Foundation, allowing Mission Direct to refurbish and build a Transformation Centre hosting 100 children at any one time. The children have been provided with vital educational supplies, clothing and toiletries and the IT team put in 15 computers for a computer training facility. NEC also facilitated the translation of its Disability Policy and Frequently asked Questions ( FAQs) into Braille for the blind , sign and pictorial versions for the deaf an dumb ( NEC Annual 2015 Report). PROMOTING AND PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF VULNERABLE GROUPS INCLUDING INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS AND REFUGEES APRM Sierra Leone | Annual Progress Report