MONROVIA: Finance and Development Planning Minister, Samuel D. Tweah, has expressed grave concern over the imposition of huge graduation fees for schools by educational institutions in the country, disclosing that the government is considering the abolition of the practice.
Minister Tweah said that in addition to the government of Liberia tuition-free policy for public institutions, as well as, the payment of fees for students writing the West African Senior School Certificate Exams (WASSCE), educational institutions must see the need to put an end to the practice of allowing students to pay fees for graduation.
Minister Tweah was speaking recently on State Radio in Paynesville, outside Monrovia.
“Something needs to be done about this extra cost that our students are challenged with. It is a burden too weighty for the ordinary students to bear,” he said.
In October 2019, the George Weah administration introduced a Tuition-Free policy in public schools and at the same time committed his government to shouldering the cost of WASSCE examinations.
The move by President Weah was aimed at relieving parents from the extra costs that come with education which is a critical step towards increasing the country’s human capital development index.
The pronouncement of the policy came after a series of protests during previous years by students from the state-run university against rising tuition.
The Minister noted that the rationale behind the President’s commitment is to enable Liberian students, many of whom are downtrodden, to rise from poverty by giving them the privilege to gain knowledge.
Meanwhile, Minister Tweah has expressed the government commitment to investing and improving Liberia’s human capital.
Quoting a World Bank report, Tweah noted that the greatest challenge to Liberia in the next 25 years is improving the quality of education. “The World Bank report says we have to invest in human capital. We need at least about US$500 million from the government side,” Tweah noted.
Among other things, the Minister told the Nation that the government is making efforts to absorb an additional 1,500 volunteer teachers in the system as a means of addressing the deficit being experienced as a result of the lack of teachers.
According to him, the government through the Ministry of Education will ensure that those teachers who meet the quality benchmark will be included on the government payroll. Courtesy-LINA.
