Africa-Press – Liberia. The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) has disbursed amount of US$550,000 to the University of Liberia (UL) to settle outstanding arrears, vocational school semester and the renovation of the unkempt bathrooms to ensure the start of the Academic Year 2024/2025.
The fund, which was disbursed on Thursday, September 11, 2025, came in response to a formal request from the UL President Dr. Layli Maparyan for urgent financial support.
University of Liberia officials had raised concerns over lingering salary arrears, unmet obligations from the recent Vacation School Semester and dilapidated student facilities that threatened to derail learning.
In a communication from MFDP, the allocation submitted by the UL Administration, US$251,000 was intended for settling salary arrears owed to adjunct faculty from the first semester of Academic Year 2024/2025, US$199,000 for partially settle outstanding arrears from the vacation school semester, while US$100,000 will finance the renovation of bathroom facilities on the university’s campuses.
UL Administrators described the intervention as both timely and strategic. They noted that the settlement of outstanding arrears would help restore faculty confidence, while the bathroom renovations would directly improve student welfare and campus conditions.
“This support is critical for ensuring the smooth resumption of Semester II of the 2024/2025 Academic Year,” a UL official explained. “It will not only provide relief to our adjunct faculty, who have long awaited payments, but will also boost morale among both staff and students as we work to strengthen the teaching and learning environment.”
MFDP emphasized that the allocation underscores the government’s commitment to higher education and reflects a deliberate effort to resolve challenges at Liberia’s largest public university.
Accordingly, MFDP said that faculty compensation issues and tackling infrastructure shortfalls, the government hopes to avoid disruptions to the academic calendar, which in the past, has been plagued by protests, strikes, and institutional instability.
In recent years, the UL’s main campus on Capitol Hill and satellite campuses including Fendall, has long struggled with inadequate funding, deteriorating facilities, and recurring disputes over salaries and benefits. The US$550,000 injection, therefore, represents a significant intervention aimed at restoring stability and confidence in the institution.
However, the university in communication, has confirmed that they have begun settling arrears owed to adjunct faculty, following the release of funds from the Government of Liberia through the MFDP.
According to the UL Comptroller, Togar Gibson, the payments began with Ecobank Account Holders and are now being extended to other banks. He assured that all outstanding payments for adjunct faculty and those who taught overload courses will be completed next week.
Gibson disclosed that the MFDP provided L$50.7 million to cover arrears exclusively for the first semester of the 2024/2025 Academic Year. This disbursement represents the second half of the planned payment, with the first fifty percent made in August 2025.
He further revealed that the UL Administration is actively engaging the MFDP to secure an additional L$71 million to cover liabilities from the recent vacation school and to settle all remaining faculty payments.
“We are thankful to the Government of Liberia, through the MFDP, for the additional funding and its unwavering support to keep the University operational,” Gibson stated.
“Faculty and staff remain a top priority of the UL Administration, and we are determined to provide the fiscal space for them to be effective and efficient.”
Gibson explained that delays in paying adjunct faculty for the first semester resulted from a budgetary adjustment, in which US$1 million was redirected to settle arrears from the 2023/2024 academic year.
The President of the Adjunct Faculty Association of the University of Liberia (AFA-UL), Madam Wilhelmina Garr Stevens, confirmed that her members have begun receiving their payments.
“I can confirm that I have been paid, just like most of my colleagues,” Madam Stevens said, citing notifications from the association’s chat room showing members being credited across different banks.
Several adjunct faculties also expressed appreciation through telephone interviews with UL Relations, commending the Administration’s prompt action. They noted assurances from UL Authorities that arrears for vacation school classes will be settled once the remaining US$550,000 is received.
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