A called to Improve Education in Liberia: Educational Stakeholders Petition Bong Legislative Caucus
By: Albert Fania
Monrovia-April 28,2024-Several Educational Stakeholders of Bong County on Thursday April 28,2024 petitioned the Bong County Legislative Caucus headed by Senator Prince K. Moye to improved the state of education in the country.
The stakeholders, in their statement, informed their leaders to reawaken the Reform Act of 2011 by ensuring the provision of quality education to all citizens at every level of the education sector.
Stressing the promotion of equal access to educational opportunities for all Liberians without discrimination of any kind; and the decentralisation of the educational system for maximum effect throughout the country.
The group included: the Bong County Students Union (BONSU), the Parents-Teachers Association, Principal Association of Bong School System, the County Education Officers among others.
In their petition, the group said, the Global Partnership for Education established domestic financing recommendation that 20% of the total recounted budget be allocated to expenditure on education as well as the government of Liberia, in alignment with its commitment under the Incheon Declaration of 2015 and the Dakar Framework of 2000, of which, has not been working properly for the school system of Liberia.
Presenting the petition to the Legislative Caucus at Capital Building recently, the Bong County Educational stakeholders disclose that regardless of these existing laws and commitments, the Education System both local and national continue faced enormous challenges including, inconsistent and inadequate distribution of school supplies, insufficient budget allocations for quality supplies, irregular and inefficient payment of teacher salaries.
They also highlighted limited access to early childhood education, limited investment in new facilities, inefficient budget management practices, and limited resources for early childhood among several other challenges facing the sector.
Bong County Educational stakeholders indicated that the challenges have over the past years undermined the quality of education in Liberia, impaired educational experiences and missed opportunities for foundational learning.
With the challenges faced by the education sector in Liberia the Bong County Educational stakeholders want the august body through the Bong Legislative Caucus advocate for increase in the FY2024 draft education budget to at least 20% and to ensure that such reflects to the education budget of Bong County.
In their quest, to ensure that the budget expenditures address the issues of school supplies, teacher salaries, school infrastructure development and maintenance, early childhood education and teacher’s knowledge enhancement programs in Bong County.
Receiving the petition on-behalf of the Bong County Legislative Caucus, Representative Foday E. Fahnbulleh applauded the Bong County Educational stakeholders for the steps taken towards a better educational system, not only in Bong County but Liberia as a whole.
He promised to hand deliver the documents to his colleagues in their regular meeting for onward discussions.
