By Rancy S. Teewia
MONROVIA, Jan. 26 (LINA) – President George M. Weah has announced plans by government to provide 3,000 scholarships for school girls transitioning from 9th grade in four counties.
He said the counties are considered as having the highest rate of dropout from high school, adding that the funding to cover the scholarships is part of the US$47 million provided by the World Bank to support education in Liberia.
He also said though it is true that students are not required to pay tuition in public schools but sponsorship shall cover all registration fees, uniforms, textbooks and annual cash allowances.
Making the pronouncement during his 5th Annual Address to the nation in Monrovia, the Liberian leader noted that providing quality education to the future leaders remains paramount to his administration.
He stressed that his administration has made great strides in improving literacy and other learning outcomes in the educational sector with milestone achievements in the area of access quality and system transformation.
“These achievements and interventions include a continuous development in the learning platforms and smart classrooms throughout the country and the introduction of the distant learning framework along virtual laboratories,” Pres. Weah noted.
The Liberian leader continued by saying that since the 1970s his administration has made the largest single investment in senior secondary schools, to address the huge infrastructure deficit in the educational sector.
He said the US$47 million grant received from the World Bank has contributed to the wide scope of interventions, including new construction, rehabilitation, equipping, training and textbooks, a development which has greatly contributed to the huge push that the government is making in the educational system.
Pres. Weah also highlighted his government’s deliverables in education, adding that renovations and rehabilitations of all 156 public High Schools throughout the country are ongoing.
He indicated that renovation and rehabilitation works will be completed and dedicated by June 2022 in phases, preferably by counties.
Pres. Weah also cited that under the Irish project in partnership with the World Bank, the government will embark on the construction of three public high school complexes in the first quarter of this year, adding that designs and procurement have been completed.
He noted that each of the three institutions has been designed to accommodate 1,500 senior high school students, disclosing that his government replicates said initiative in other school districts to provide a better learning environment for children.
Meanwhile, the Liberian leader emphasized that available school statistics have it that the total number of senior secondary schools in the country is 752 as of Academic Year 2020/2021, of which the Government owns only 156.
He said to reduce that gap, the Irish Project shall fund the construction of 25 new Secondary Schools strategically situated in 25 school districts that are currently without secondary schools.
“Under this project, we are also funding the training of 35 University instructors out of the country, procuring a digital library, revising textbooks for students and upgrading the curriculum.
