Virginia – For almost 11 weeks, students of the Liberian School for the Blind have been denied access to free primary education, while their peers at the Professor D. Ansu Sonii Foundation (DAS) Academy are gearing up for their second marking period test.
The Liberian School for the Blind is located in the Township of Virginia, outside Monrovia. Founded in 1977 and funded by the Liberian government through fiscal budgetary allotment, the school objective is to provide education and psycho-social counseling to visually impaired students.
However, the school doors have been closed since the resumption of this year’s academic activities.
According to the School’s Administrative Assistant, Koiffee Johnson Willie, the government is yet to provide funding to the institution since the commencement of this academic year 2019/2020. The Ministry of Education remains tight-lipped on the situation.
“We have never opened as a result of lack of funding. This is the first time since I been here for the past seven (7) years. We cannot provide services to the visually impaired. Government is the sole larger funder of the school, and it has not provided funding for us to run the school. Government has to decide on our opening now. We are projecting about 75 students for this academic year,” said Willie.
The Accepted
DAS Academy was dedicated by President George Manneh Weah in 2018. It is named in honor of Liberia’s education Minister and also own by him, the school offers high quality education for pupils. The condition at the DAS, otherwise known by locals, is in sharp contrast to situation the blind school.
DAS is located opposite the Unity Conference Center Community in the township of Virginia, outside Monrovia. Guided by a well-constructed fence, the school is being housed in a two-storey building that comprises of more than 20 rooms, a paved yard and a playground.
The classrooms are conducive for learning and teaching purposes. Smart boards and projectors are used to teach kids at the kindergarten levels, and there is a bus to commute students and administrative staff to and from school and several pick up points.
But the attainment of information sheets for this academic year 2019/2020 remains a search for gold dust at DAS Academy.
Parents and others, who have students attending the school, were reportedly made to glance at the fees written on a sheet of paper for the academic year, with installment plans hand-written by business department, a source said.
Sources say the decision to avoid the printing of information sheet was triggered due to barrage of criticisms from residents who have complained about the exorbitant fees being charged at the academy.
Although located in a township where bulk of the citizens live below the poverty line, DAS Foundation charges parents exorbitant fees.
Nursery students paid the amount of US$600 (excluding other expense), while students at the elementary level paid between US$700 to US$925 each per year.
Separate amounts including US$5 for Identification Card, US$12 for medical and first aid, US$3 for students’ handbook, and US$10 for supplies during registration were also charged for the academic year 2018/2019.
Optional vocational courses including: US$85 for computer, US$85 for music, US$50 for arts and craft were rendered for elementary students at the school.
The reopening of the Minister of Education, Dr. Ansu Sonii, comes at the time when other public and private schools across the country have already administered their first marking period test, but sadly the doors of the Liberian School of the Blind remain shut.
“We have never opened as a result of lack of funding. This is the first time since I been here for the past seven (7) years. We cannot provide services to the visually impaired. Government is the sole larger funder of the school, and it has not provided funding for us to run the school. Government has to decide on our opening now. We are projecting about 75 students for this academic year.” – Mr. Koiffee Johnson Willie, School’s Administrative Assistant, Liberian School for the Blind
The Rejected
On the other hand, the Liberian School for the Blind remains in shambles as the hope of 75 students, who are desperate to learn the brail, remains in limbo.
Portion of the school fence has already fallen, the roof is leaking, computer laboratory remains non-functional, many teaching and supportive staff are off government’s payroll, while food rations are now extinct.
The swings and marry-go-rounds gifted to the vulnerable students by a humanitarian organization couple of years back are now corroded.
The compound continues to experience flood during the rainy season due to the lack of a dredging and covert system. And, unlike DAS, there is no bus to commute students to and from school.
Freeze on Budgetary Allotments
The Liberian School for the Blind has been consistently allotted portions of monies in the national budget of Liberia.
For Fiscal Year 2018/2019, the Liberian School for the Blind was allotted the amount of US$45,000, out of the national envelope of US$526m passed by the 54th National Legislature.
Out of the total amount budgeted for the institution, only US$20,000 was received by authorities of the Liberian School for the blind.
Not a single cent has been disbursed to authorities of the school from a budgetary allotment of US$50,000 in the national budget for Fiscal Year 2019/2020.
Education: A Constitutional right
Access to attaining knowledge or education is enshrined in Article 15 (b) of the 1986 Liberian constitution.
States Article 15 (b) of the Constitution: “The right encompasses the right to hold opinions without interference and the right to knowledge. It includes freedom of speech and of the press, academic freedom to receive and impart knowledge and information and the right of libraries to make such knowledge available. It includes non-interference with the use of the mail, telephone and telegraph. It likewise includes the right to remain silent.”
Residents of the township, and others say that the prolong delay of the school’s reopening is the violation of the students’ right to education.
MOE Dragging Feet
Authorities of the Ministries of Education, and Finance and Development Planning are failing to act in order to remedy the situation at the Liberian School for the Blind.
However, the authorities have persistently complained about the lack of adequate funding to support various sectors in Liberia.
When contacted via telephone on November 2, Education Ministry’s Communication Director, Maxime Bleetahn said he is unaware about the situation at the institution.
He promised that inquiries will be made to his bosses, and a definite position will be issued by the ministry.
However, when a FPA reporter made follow-up with the school to ascertain whether the Ministry had made any contacts or interventions, the school administration maintained that the situation remains the same and they have not heard from the government.
The delay in the provision of free and compulsory primary education, which was in full swing during the regime of ex-Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, appears to be ‘cold shouldered’ since the inception of the Weah-led administration.