Training
The school system consists of a one-year
preschool, followed by a six-year elementary school and
a supplementary stage of three plus three years.
Officially, ten-year school attendance applies from the
age of six, but in practice, even half of the children
rarely have a proper schooling.
On paper, all fees were removed from the state
primary school in 2007, but some of them still remain.
This, along with the low quality of teaching, a long way
to school and costs for books and school uniforms, has
contributed to many children being absent from school.
Especially in the countryside, many teachers have had a
hard time getting their salaries. Teaching has also
suffered from teachers' strike or travel to Monrovia to
demonstrate for better conditions.
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Allcitypopulation: Offers a list of biggest cities in the state of
Liberia, including the capital city which hosts major colleges and
universities.
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COUNTRYAAH:
Country facts of Liberia, including geography profile, population statistics, and business data.
During the civil wars of 1989–1996 and 1999–2003,
large parts of the school system were destroyed. After
the end of the war, the government has invested heavily
in rebuilding the demolished schools. In the state
budget for 2014/2015, about 11 percent of the
expenditure on education was allocated, making it one of
the larger individual budget items. However, the decline
is so great that it is expected to take many years to
create a well-functioning school system. The Ebola
epidemic 2014–2015 meant another breakdown, as schools
were kept closed for almost the entire period. According
to the World Bank, however, more children attended
school in 2016 than it was before the outbreak of the
disease.
In the capital Monrovia there is the state University
of Liberia, founded as early as the mid-1800s. More than
half a dozen other institutes also provide higher
education. These, too, have been affected by the wars. A
measure of the extent of the problems came in August
2013 when all students (almost 25,000) failed their
entrance exams to the university. However, after talks
with then-president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, 1,800
students were given education at a state university,
despite failing to pass the exams.
In 2018, President George Weah promised to drop the
tuition fees for all undergraduate students. According
to Weah, about 20,000 students register at the
universities every year, but 8,000 never begin their
studies due to lack of money.
FACTS - EDUCATION
Proportion of children starting primary
school
36.8 percent (2016)
Number of pupils per teacher in primary
school
27 (2016)
Reading and writing skills
42.9 percent (2007)
Public expenditure on education as a
percentage of GDP
7.0 percent (2017)
Public expenditure on education as a
percentage of the state budget
7.0 percent (2017)
2016
June
UN force leaves Liberia
June 30th
On July 1, Unmil surrenders power to the Liberian
army. However, 1 240 UN soldiers and 606 police officers
remain for a while in the event of a crisis.
Sirleaf Johnson new president of Ecowas
June 4th
She thus becomes the first woman to hold the post.
May
Investigation of corruption business is promised
May 26
President Johnson Sirleaf reacts with dismay over the
corruption revelations earlier this month. She sets up a
special group, led by lawyer Jonathan Fonati Koffa, to
investigate it and asks British Prime Minister David
Cameron for help. Outside the Monrovia parliament
building, protests will be held on May 19 to demand
immediate action against those involved. The choice of
Koffa also receives criticism, as he has previously been
convicted of embezzlement. Several of the nominees
intend to run in valent 2017, but the government is now
considering blocking candidates who are subject to
judicial investigations.
New corruption scandal
May 12
Information that the British mining company paid $
950,000 in bribes to high-ranking politicians in Liberia
and Guinea is leaked through the organization Global
Witness. Varney Sherman, lawyer and chairman of the
ruling Unity Party, should have helped the company pay
out bribes that were used, among other things, to push
through a change in law in Liberia that would make it
easier for the company to break iron in Wologizi in
northern Liberia. Among the nominees are Senator Morris
Saytumah, a former close adviser to the President, Alex
Taylor, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Johnson
Sirleaf's son Fombah Sirleaf, Richard Tolbert, who
previously chaired the country's commission of inversion
and Village Minister Ernest CB Jones. Everyone involved
denies that they have done anything wrong.
April
New finance minister and central bank governor
April 15
The post goes to Boima Kamara, who previously held a
leading position in Liberia's central bank. New central
bank governor will be Milton Weeks, who will take over
after Charles Sirleaf, who was temporarily assigned to
the assignment in February, after Joseph Mills Jones
resigned to stand in the 2017 presidential election.
New ebola cases are detected at the beginning of the
month
According to authorities, this is a woman who has
fallen ill after a trip to Guinea, where reports of new
deaths have come in the spring.
January
Unclear about the death of politicians
January 31 Harry Greaves, influential politician and
businessman, is found dead on a beach in Monrovia, just
over a mile from the exclusive tourist resort where
witnesses last saw him. Greaves, who was an adviser to
both Gyude Bryant (see below) and President Johnson
Sirleaf, as well as the head of the oil company LPRC,
had been accused of corruption and turned into one of
the sitting government's foremost critics. What caused
Greave's death is unknown, but many of his injuries must
have been caused after he died. The death toll leads to
a number of rumors and concerns about the security of
the country. In 2016, the country's own police force
will assume responsibility for security from the UN
force Unmil.
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