PHOTO: Dr. Mle-too Wesley
By Charles Gbayor, maorethason1997@gmail.com
HARPER, Liberia- The Vice President for Academic Affairs at the William V S Tubman University (TU) in southeastern Maryland County is calling on the government and its well -meaning developmental partners to construct schools in every cluster Village across Liberia.
TU is the second state-owned university in Liberia and the only university in the southeastern region of this country.
Dr. Mle-too Wesley said that government needs to construct schools in every Cluster village across the Country to help bring Education to the people in the rural parts of Liberia.
The Tubman University Vice President said if the Liberian government invests in building more schools across the county, it will help reduce the over-crowdedness in classroom and improve the education system as well.
He attributed the low budgetary allocation to Liberia’s Education sector to parents’ unwillingness to prioritize their children’s education.
Dr. Wesley is at the same time encouraging parents to take their children’s education serious.
The TU’s Vice President for Academic Affairs was speaking recently at a local civil society group, YOCEL day-long Forum on More 4 Education held in Harper and supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The forum is calling for 20 percent budget increment to be allotted annually for the Ministry of Education.
Dr. Wesley said the Education Ministry’s annual budget is low and needs to be increased.
Liberia increased its National Budget allocation for the Ministry of Education from 13.7% in the 2017/2018 Budget to 14.7 % in 2018/2019.
Considering the Liberian Government efforts, these percentages are still below the 20 percent global benchmark for Education financing and the Education sector plan 2010 2020.
Statistics show that Liberia as the least Country in terms of the share of national budget on Education in the Mano River Union Countries. And this country sits second place in West Africa compared with eight other African countries.
The Republic of Ghana has 33 percent, followed by Zimbabwe and Ethiopia at 30 and 27 percent, respectively.