A major opportunity to expand higher education in Bong County could be slipping away as negotiations over a privately developed campus valued at between US$700,000 and US$800,000 remain unresolved.
The six-acre facility, developed by Change Agent Network (CAN) and Opportunity Network Liberia (ONL), has classrooms, offices, electricity, running water, internet connectivity, furniture and other basic facilities needed to support academic activities. CAN/ONL founder Eric W. Wowoh says the organization offered the campus to Bong County University (BCU) to help increase access to higher education, but months later, the university has not formally accepted the offer.
The disagreement mainly concerns money and responsibility. CAN/ONL wants BCU to contribute 10% of the campus’s annual operating budget and take responsibility for about US$50,000 in outstanding liabilities.
BCU public relations officer Marcus Malayea says the university has concerns about taking on additional financial obligations because it operates on a government allocation of about US$1.5 million, which must cover salaries and other institutional expenses.
He indicated that a lower contribution could be considered if the liability issue were removed, although BCU has not formally submitted a 5% proposal.
The campus is currently being temporarily used by LICOCESS, a private teacher-training institution. That arrangement has added another layer to the discussions, with questions about who would control the facility, how it would be scheduled and whether BCU could operate effectively alongside another institution.
Despite the disagreement, Wowoh says CAN/ONL has not closed the door on negotiations. He sees the Bong campus as part of a larger effort to expand education across Liberia, particularly in communities where students struggle with distance, cost and limited educational facilities.
Wowoh says CAN/ONL has invested more than US$4 million in Liberia through education and other development initiatives. He argues that the organization’s goal is not simply to own property, but to build institutions that can eventually serve Liberians for generations.
In Bong County, the issue is now bigger than the ownership or use of one campus. It is about whether a facility that is already built and equipped can become part of the public university system and create more opportunities for students—or whether disagreements over finances and responsibilities will leave the opportunity on hold.
The door remains open, but both sides will have to find common ground if the campus is to fulfill the educational purpose for which it was built.
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