Africa-Press – Liberia. So, as part of efforts aimed at addressing the funding gap in the education sector, the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), through its Civil Society Activity Project (CSA).
For years, Liberia has had to grapple with low funding for education, leading to a lack of basic resources such as textbooks, school infrastructure, and teacher training.
So, as part of efforts aimed at addressing the funding gap in the education sector, the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), through its Civil Society Activity Project (CSA) conducted a one-day policy dialogue on a scoping study on Alternative Resource Mobilization Strategies to fund education.
The project is being funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and is implemented by Development Alternative Incorporated (DAI) in partnership with CENTAL as subcontractor.
The High Level Policy Dialogue, which was held on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, assembled education stakeholders and policymakers including Lawmakers, especially those on the Joint Committee on Education of both the Liberian Senate and the House of Representatives. They included Sinoe County Representative Thomas Romeo Quioh, Alfred Flomo District 4, Representative Grand Bassa County, and Senator Numene Bartewah of Sinoe County.
The event was also graced by a team from the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) headed by H. Barshelu Kormah, Assistant Commissioner, Small and Micro Tax Division, County and District Education Officials, and National Teachers Association of Liberia.
In his overview of the dialogue, CENTAL’s Senior Program Officer and Project Lead for the CSA project, Randall Makor, highlighted the rationale of the study which he said was meant to shed light on the dire financing constraints facing the education sector and to provide locally-driven innovative strategies to alternatively fundraise for education.
He also emphasized the importance of addressing challenges and constraints that continue to hinder access, equity, and quality of education; and determining possible pathways through which additional resources can be optimized for sustained financing to education.
Adding, he said, this is intended to address the myriad of constraints confronting the sector including the acute shortage of trained and qualified teachers at all levels, inadequate supply of school materials, dilapidated school infrastructure, proliferation of volunteer teachers, among others
Also speaking Anderson D. Miamen, Executive Director, CENTAL, emphasized the significance of increased funding to education. “Of all the rights, the right to education is a multiplier right because all other rights are tied to it”, he said. Mohammed Boakai, Senior Policy Advisor, USAID/ DAI CSA Project, highlighted the important role the project is playing in improving education outcomes in Liberia.
During a panel discussion, Representative Thomas Romeo Quioh, Chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee on Education, addressed issues of galvanizing legislative buy-ins and commitments for education financing.
He said increasing financing for education is not only critical but necessary to secure the future of the children of Liberia. He also pledged the commitment and support on behalf of the joint committee on education.
Grand Kru County Senator Numene T. H. Bartkewa, Co-chair of the Joint Legislative Committee on Education, commended CENTAL through the CSA project for the initiative.
While he acknowledged the importance of funding education, he however cautioned stakeholders about carefully labeling taxes to avoid additional burden on the citizens. H. Barshelu Kromah, Assistant Commissioner, Small and Micro Tax Division, Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), provided insights on the tax regime, with a focus on identifying tax-smart approaches to funding education and outlined smart tax approaches.
The dialogue climaxed with overwhelming support from all stakeholders intended to ensure sustainable financing for education to meet the 20% global benchmark proffered key findings of the scoping study on alternative financing and propose appropriate actions to engender legislation.
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