Africa-Press – Liberia. A prominent education advocate has sharply criticized the Liberian government for underfunding the country’s education sector while allocating massive resources to lawmakers and political officials.
Dr. Shalom M.S. Nimere, Sr., National Coordinator of the Liberia Vocational Educational Program (LVEP) said the government is offering “lip service” to education, treating the system as an afterthought while pouring public funds into politics.
“The investment in education is peanuts,” Dr. Nimere declared. “Meanwhile, the budget for lawmakers in Montserrado County alone dwarfs what’s allocated to key vocational institutions like the Monrovia Vocational Training Center (MVTC).”
He warned that Liberia’s education system is in a state of crisis, with most schools lacking essential tools, equipment, libraries, science labs, and trained teachers. According to Dr. Nimere, these deficiencies have left students ill-prepared and undermined the quality of instruction across the country.
“You cannot experiment with education,” he said. “We have high school and college graduates entering classrooms as teachers with no training, no classroom management skills, and no lesson planning experience. That’s an affront to the profession.”
Dr. Nimere emphasized the need for a minimum of 20% of the national budget to be allocated to the education sector not to fund high salaries for top officials, but to support teacher development, instructional materials, and facility upgrades.
“Education is the right of every citizen,” he said. “But the government is failing in its duty to provide the capital investment necessary to support that right.”
He also criticized the government’s approach of building community colleges without first ensuring a pipeline of qualified educators. Instead, Dr. Nimere recommended that the government focus on strengthening the Teachers College at the University of Liberia and develop a five-year plan to train teachers up to the doctoral level.
Drawing from his own educational experience, Dr. Nimere recalled attending a well-equipped science lab at St. Patrick’s High School and lamented that many students today graduate without ever seeing a lab or using a computer.
“They just read, and when it’s time for exams, teachers give them the answers. That’s not education, that’s failure at the highest level,” he stated.
As calls for education reform grew louder, Dr. Nimere urged the government to prioritize the future of Liberia’s children over the comfort of politicians.
“If we are serious, we must invest intentionally, substantially, and urgently. Our children deserve better.”
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