Education

Education Minister Reacts to Orator's Speech

The Minister of Education, Dr. Joseph Korto, has called for accommodation and compromise between the implementation of the national educational system and the traditional institutions of Poro and Sande societies in Liberia.

The Minister was responding to a call by this year's Independence Day Orator for the government and the people to respect the cultural heritage and traditional institutions in the country. The orator, Paramount Chief Flomo Targbah Barworor of Jorquelleh District, Bong County, specifically called on the government to allow traditional leaders conduct Poro and Sande societies in their jurisdictions without any hindrance under the law.

Speaking in a telephone interview with Daily Observer reporter from his Maryland home, Dr. Korto said he was in total agreement with the paramount chief about maintaining respect for the existence and operation of the Poro and Sande societies, but observed that times and conditions had changed since the establishment of Western education throughout the country. He called for a proper scheduling of events that would not pit the sessions of Poro and Sande (bush schools) against the regular (Western) school calendar.

Director for Higher Education Underscores Challenges Facing Post-war Liberia

The Director-General for National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE) at the Ministry of Education (MOE), Dr. Michael P. Slawon, says Liberia in post-war era is faced with many challenges in meeting the needs for her many reconstruction programs.
Dr. Slawon made the statement recently when he served as keynote speaker at a souvenir program of the first class graduation exercise of students from the Liberia Institute of Public Administration and Management (LIPA).
The 22 personnel who graduated were drawn from the various ministries and agencies, including people from the Ministries of Gender, Internal Affairs, Public Works and Finance. Others came from the National Fire Service, University of Liberia, Forestry Development Authority (FDA) as well as staffers of some of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Taking into consideration the global economic crisis, Dr. Slawon said nations around the World were struggling to stabilize their economies from recession in order to enable them meet the basic social services of their citizens.
According to him, some of the measures being instituted to enhance recovery leading to prosperity for the social, political and wellbeing of the people include, but not limited to ensuring good governance, accountability and transparency in the management of the scarce resources for the benefit of the citizens.

‘Share your Knowledge with your Country’

Methodist Clergyman Rev. Dr. Kenneth H. Carter has called on Liberians graduating from colleges and universities in specified career areas to avoid selfishness and share what they have achieved with their country for development.
Rev. Dr. Kenneth Carter, whose message to the United Methodist University Graduates on August 11, 2009 was more biblical, said that God gives people but does not share with those to whom He gives. He said what God gives an individual is meant to be shared with others who do not have and therefore Liberians should make better use of their careers to develop their country.
“Education is the illumination of the mind and Liberia has been in a dark time. It is only Liberians who can bring light to their own country,” the Clergyman stressed.
Rev. Dr. Carter said it was about time Liberians thought of what they could do for their country and not what they could get from it.
He said what an individual thinks about God is what he does with his life, noting that “if a man thinks negatively toward God, he will always do things that will displease Him, and if good thinking he will manifest it by doing what will portray the true image of God that will positively reflect on his country.”

MOE Has No Control over Private School Tuition Fees

Education Minister Dr. Joseph D.Z. Korto has openly told members of the House of Representatives that the 1912 Act which created the Ministry of Education (MOE) does not give the Ministry the statutory mandate to regulate tuition fees in private schools.
Dr. Korto clarified that the Government of Liberia has the power to mandate regularized government schools operating in Liberia but has no statutory mandate to control the payments of tuition fees in private schools.
Minister Korto was speaking yesterday, August 27, 2009 before the House’s Plenary at the Capitol Building where he had been summoned by members of that august body.
The Education boss told the lawmakers that he (Korto) had been instructed by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to investigate the hike in tuition fees and report his findings.
He explained that the MOE had already begun discussions with the various stakeholders involved. Korto maintained that most of the private schools involved registered their reasons by indicating that teachers in private schools needed an increase in salary, rehabilitation, reconstruction and preparedness of students to join other international students to sit the 2011 international exams.

President Sirleaf Reopens Todee Mission School

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has officially reopened the partially renovated First Presbyterian Todee Mission School located in Goba Town, Todee District in rural Montserrado County, for active academic activities for hundreds of youths living in that area.
The Liberian leader told citizens of that district to make good use of the soil through agricultural activities to help sustain themselves and the district school.
President Sirleaf spoke Tuesday, August 25, 2009, at the official turning-over and reopening of the renovated Todee Mission School building in rural Montserrado County.
The school was renovated under the BHP Billiton community projects with an amount of over US$60,600.
BHP Billiton is an international non-governmental organization from the United Kingdom operating in Liberia. The group has come to invest in the mining area but is providing basic social services in support of government's development agenda.
President Sirleaf lauded the First Presbyterian Church board and elders for the dedicated service rendered the people of Todee District.
She praised Elder Ophelia Johnson who chairs the Presbyterian Todee Mission Board for her commitment, adding that she has a vision and a mission.

School Authorities Justify Hike in School Fees

Some private school authorities in Monrovia have attributed the tuition fee hike to a number of factors.
On a tour of Monrovia and its environs over the week, it was realized that many schools had increased their tuition fees. When asked for the rationale in coming up with high fees, some of the school administrators said it was done to attract qualified teachers, upgrade the facilities of the schools. Others failed to give any tangible reason other than for the purpose of profit-making.
The hike in school fees was first noticed in the Catholic School System when the Secretariat increased tuition fees by 35 percent and compelled students to purchase uniforms within the system for US$20.00.
When this reporter visited one of the popular schools known as Soltiamon in Sinkor, a parent whose child is in the nursery division said she was to pay US$265.00 for the academic year.
Not much was gathered about the other classes as the Principal and proprietor Rev. Solomon Joah was absent from campus and the teachers said they were not in a position to comment on the issue.
However, this reporter observed that the school campus was overcrowded with parents and students registering and undergoing interviews in the wake of the hike.

Academic Standards Improve at UL, Others But…

Over the past 14 years, the University of Liberia (UL) and other emerging university colleges have been characterized by poor academic achievement.

GOL Showcases 10-Year Education Plan

MONROVIA – The Ministry of Education (MoE) has begun a series of consultations with county and district education officers as well as other stakeholders on its newly formulated 10-year educational plan for Liberia.

UL Offers Chinese Language Courses

MONROVIA – A Confucius Institute dedicated to offering Chinese courses as a major or minor to students has been established at the University of Liberia (UL).

Education Is Application

A university instructor at African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AME) University College says the theoretical aspect of learning does not impart as much as does the practical aspect of learning, which exposes the learner to the visual and kinesthetic aspects.

Education

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