Monrovia – Education Minister George Warner has come under increasing pressure from public schools teachers to quit his position over his handling of the education sector.
“If we a as a people are not careful about the PPP process, all other Public Services of our country will be turned over to profit makers at our expense in the future”- Mrs. Mary Mulbah Nyumah, Acting President, National Teachers Association of Liberia
Appointed in 2015 by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Warner’s decision to close schools right after the Ebola outbreak sparked a major public debate, prompting the National Legislature to intervene although the decision was never reversed but further creating fraction between the legislature and the executive.
Minister Warner again made another ‘controversial’ move which he claimed was geared toward ‘fixing’ the school system by initiating a Public Private Partnership (PPP). The move has since ignited another public debate and international condemnation by the UNESCO rapporteur on education.
Despite the concerns about the PPP, the MOE has embarked on a pilot project for several schools while the criticism against outsourcing the entire pre-primary and primary education system to Bridge International Academies intensifies.
Aggrieved Teachers Call for Warner’s Resignation
Several teachers and education workers on Wednesday, September 21 kicked off a nationwide protest by laying down all educational tools and demanding the unconditional resignation or dismissal of Education Minister Werner.
The aggrieved teachers are also demanding the resignation of the superintendent of the Monrovia Consolidated School System (MCSS) Adolphus Benjamin Jacobs, whom in their opinion have made the system more ‘messy’.
At the Ministry of Education on Wednesday, teachers and education workers were seen holding placards carrying slogans including: ‘George and Adolphus must go’.
One protester, Susan P. Nagbe of the MCSS Teacher Association claimed ‘they have suffered for so long since the appointment of Werner and Jacobs’, while stressing that ‘enough is enough’.
A beneficiary of MOE scholarship program, Mrs. Cecelia P. Wiles, during the protest branded Minister Werner as ‘an evil person’.
The action of the teachers comes a week after the National Teachers Association of Liberia and five other groups gave the two ‘under pressure’ officials a ten day ultimatum to step down.
Acting NTAL President Mary Mulbah Nyumah insists their demand is in the interest of the Country, stressing that maintaining the two officials will further impede Liberia’s education system.
“If we as a people are not careful about the PPP process, all other public services of our country will be turned over to profit makers at our expense in the future,” Mrs. Nyumah said.
However, Minister Warner has repeatedly argued that he inherited a problem that has existed for many years and that he is working to curb these challenges. Warner argues that he’s not impeding the sector, as being asserted by aggrieved teachers across the country.
In solidarity of the campaign demanding the resignation of Warner and Jacobs, several other groups including the National Health Workers Association of Liberia, the Monrovia Consolidated School System Teachers Association, Concerned Universities Students of the Ministry of Education and the Consolidated Human Rights Advocacy Movement among others have also increased calls for their resignation.
The aggrieved groups also claim that privatization of the country’s education sector violates the New Education Reform Law.
Meanwhile, the teachers’ action, observers say, will eventually affect the students who have just commenced the new academic school year as concerns intensified about President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s intervention.
There are also concerns about the under payment of teachers and the unilateral dismissal of other teachers.
In Gbarpolu County, almost 100 teachers have been layoff this week and the county education officer, Mr. Dawolo B. S. Katawo said the redundancy comes as the county craves for more teachers.
Cabinet Education Reform
The decision to lay off teachers in the Gbarpolu county appears to be a part of recent decision by the Liberian cabinet after the cabinet planned to initiate what it termed as ‘a realistic implementation of actionable targets’ to improve the quality of learning in the country.
The Cabinet, in early September announced that the reforms in the education systems will include the elimination of ghosts’ names on the payroll in collaboration with Civil Service Agency (CSA), identifying unqualified teachers, hiring and training of trainable teachers through the Rural Teacher Training Institutions.
Since President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf branded the Country’s Educational System ‘messy’ there has been immense pressure for the government to make improvements, but the recent mass failure in this year’s regional exams have casted more dark shadow over the system.