Preliminary Discussion on the State of Education in Liberia
It is recognized that the task of developing an appropriate educational program to address the needs of the public in Liberia is overwhelming. Like many developing nations and post-war countries, the Government of Liberia has relied heavily on UNICEF and other NGOs to assist in setting the tone, but their efforts have focused mostly on perceived basic humanitarian needs rather than on addressing education. This policy should not be criticized as the needs specified are indeed dire. A list of challenges facing the children of Liberia and relevant statistics can be found at the following site: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/liberia.html . What should be challenged is the haphazard implementation of the UNICEF in its work on the ground, and the great disparity between the allocated amounts devoted to feasible projects, educational materials and local training as compared to expatriate employee salaries. In spite of this, one must be extra careful when criticizing aid from a foreign source.
Specifically regarding education, the following information is quoted: "Half a million children do not attend school. Two thirds of students are being taught by unqualified teachers. Girls’ enrollment rates lag far behind those for boys." The last quoted sentence is questioned by this author and likely results from UNICEF's overzealous pro-gender equality orientation, however, it must be stressed that these points quoted regarding 'education' are not the most severe of the challenges facing children in Liberia; nonetheless, education must be focused on as part of a comprehensive solution. The Herculean nature of this task makes it auspicious to propose radical and creative solutions specifically customized to suit the Liberian setting. That is where a movement for CHANGE can have a relative advantage.
For the record, it should be stated that 11% of the national budget is allocated to education, which is a reasonable percentage by international standards, although the majority of nations tend to spend more. However, the amount of national budget is so low, that to use an analogy — it is a cup of water where at the very least a bucket of water is needed. The situation being so grave, one might suppose that use of the budget has been focused on a single locality in the country, for example the capital city Monrovia, as has been done in the past. The current Minister of Education must be praised for conducting a very balanced distribution approach, taking into account all 15 counties. Since 2006, the Ministry of Education has been trying to get a comprehensive grasp of the situation, formulating a network of regional administrators, developing a salary system, gathering a list of existing schools, and the names of salaried and volunteer teachers in each one. Many volunteer teachers were put on salary and selected schools renovated which was a moral boost throughout the country, particularly in the interior. However, the process is painfully slow and does little to promote the existing standards.
To keep to my self imposed 100-200 word limit for educational proposals I must be very brief and schematic and specify general ideas that can be developed. Below are listed three programs we can consider promoting to supplement what currently exists.
Proposed Liberian Educational Programs
1. Promote a national service program that enlists the aid of educated exiled Liberians, with guaranteed renewal of passport for citizens residing abroad in return for service. Many nations have mandatory national service programs (or military service) and these are usually 1-3 years for each participant citizen. A good example for the structure of this program can be that of the US Peace Corps. This would be a good way to strengthen the connection between exiled Liberians and their country, provide return opportunities and could even encourage Afro-Americans and Afro-Europeans to consider the prospect of a renewed idealistic "Back to Africa" movement. The idea of uprooting and returning to Liberia once settled abroad is a scary prospect for many Liberians; but many of a nationalistic nature would flock to contribute 1-2 years of national service to the Liberian people and gain a cultural experience for basic low salary if a well organized limited program were to be promoted. Many who participated in the project might chose to return of their own accord.
2. Promote the study of writing in indigenous languages as an intermediary step to teaching English writing skills. Many have not considered the fact that English is in fact a second language to the majority of Liberian citizens; therefore it has gone largely unnoticed that this is one of the major reasons the ability to teach writing skills to the majority of people has been so stunted. Another stumbling block is the fact that the English the majority of people do speak is based on pidgin grammar and pronunciation. To begin to teach someone to write in a foreign language without first bothering to teach them to write in their own is to skip a step and cognitively makes it much more difficult for the prospective student to gain the skill. I was fascinated by how much quicker a Dan child could learn to write in the written script developed and taught by LIBTRALO and how much better he performed than average when later taught to write in English from others who had not previously learned to write in their own dialect. The same would probably hold true for the majority of indigenous language speakers.
3. Promote a radical new curriculum that diverges from that of the rest of the world including the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). We could chose to be bold leaders and develop a curriculum uniquely suited to a people with 60% illiteracy, a historic culture based on oral literature, and a modern age of technology that renders the ability to 'write' largely unnecessary. If we so decide to do, let's be proud of it! Writing was developed before such technologies as cellular phones, photography, the Internet and the possibility for tape-recording and webcam video interaction. For sure writing and arithmetics has its uses and should be taught as well – as special courses, but 'universal curriculum' can focus on our cultural heritage and subjects such as chemistry (alongside traditional healing), environmental studies, oral poetry, music, the art of debate and conflict resolution, practical electronics and mechanics (or physics), sports, and any number of issues historically addressed by the Poro and Sandae Societies. Thus our citizens could achieve self defined and advanced international scientific and artistic achievements without the need to write a single word! Illiterate indigenous people could be hired as instructors, and we could soon teach interested foreign student delegates, rather than vice versa.
Radical, true! Bold, yes. But is the current reality really any better?
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