By Moses M. Tokpah, mosesmtokpah@gmail.com
KAKATA, Liberia- The Proprietor of the School of Christ International (SOCI) in Weala, Margibi County east of Monrovia has decried the “Failure” of the Liberia government to subsidize private schools in the Country.
Mr. George S. Tengbeh told www.newspublictrust.com that the government through the Ministry of education is not helping private schools and is only concentrating on government schools something he added is not a good thing.
He stated that the government has failed to subsidize private institutions with textbooks, sitting capacities (chairs) and classroom instructional materials among others.
“Ministry is not actually focusing, not helping; now there is no subsidy to say they will give private schools teachers from government schools or those who have graduated from the TTIs, the teacher colleges and UL; you don’t see anything so those are challenges,” he explained.
Mr. Tengbeh acknowledged that private schools are profit making institutions and are making business, but said they are helping the Country to develop most especially bring up the young people.
He alleged that those at the helm of authority are only concentrating on putting money in their pockets at the end of the day and are not trying to see how best they can help Liberian children.
The Liberian educator expressed that helping the Liberian children should be the focus of every government adding that all of them cannot go to the government schools. This is why private schools are established to help the government as such, the government should in the same vein help the private schools when it comes to sending teachers and providing subsidies for them, the School of Christ International Proprietor said.
According to Mr. Tengbeh, the school is being operated his school with the little fees it collects from students every year.
At the same time, the school Proprietor is calling on the national government to subsidize private schools on grounds that they are teaching the same Liberian children and trying to make them become somebody tomorrow.
Liberia has ratified various United Nations conventions on fundamental rights, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on the right to education.
Article 26 states: ‘Everyone has the right to education‘. It is a non-legally binding instrument but with a great political and moral force. Since its adoption, the right to education has been reaffirmed in numerous human rights treaties and declarations adopted by the United Nations.